LEBANON, Tenn. — With each passing week, Shane van Gisbergen continues to make strides at oval race tracks, with confidence and comfort growing.
The results won’t always tell the full story. A slow pit stop dropped van Gisbergen to an 11th-place finish in last week’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, despite having an average running position of 7.81. According to NASCAR Insights, the No. 97 Chevrolet ranked seventh on sheer speed and sixth on defense among the 39-car field in NASCAR’s marathon race.
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“It was a decent day,” van Gisbergen said on Saturday at Nashville Superspeedway, reflecting on Charlotte. “I was just frustrated at the moment because our finishing position wasn’t as good as we probably deserved. We ran pretty decent all day, but I just mucked up at the end. We had a bad pit stop, and then with the strategy, maybe we could have done better.
“Everyone was pretty stoked all week, and we just got to keep that momentum going. Even when we fell out of the top-10 last weekend, we were able to get back in it. It was pretty awesome racing up there.”
The primary challenge for van Gisbergen, as he said earlier this month at Dover Motor Speedway, is getting up to speed quickly off the hauler. After a handful of laps, he’s confident in the feel of the No. 97 car, but by then, his tires are worn off at most venues.
With a 33-point showing at Charlotte, van Gisbergen hopped two positions in points, ranking 14th on The Chase grid, with a 28-point cushion over the bubble. He netted 22 points on the cutline last week alone.
“I think it’s always just time and always learning stuff,” van Gisbergen said of his growth. “Even [at Charlotte], just learning stuff throughout the race and learning the flow of the race better. And then the further up front you are, the better people race you, as well, so that’s always nice. It’s a real dogfight in the back, so getting away from that is a nice break. I think it really shows the importance of qualifying, getting up front, making no mistakes, and you can stay out there all day.”
With Trackhouse Racing wrestling with results in 2026, it’s noticeable that van Gisbergen is ahead of teammates Ross Chastain and rookie phenom Connor Zilisch most weeks at ovals. The No. 97 team has five top-15 finishes — including a personal oval best of sixth at EchoPark Speedway — in 11 oval starts to begin 2026.
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Chastain, a five-time oval winner, has noticed his stablemate’s development.
“He just didn’t do a lot of it in his past,” Chastain said of van Gisbergen’s oval surge. “He did some dirt-track stuff, but no big concrete, big, steep banked asphalt, high-speed mile and a halves. I think he’s just learned. He’s a racer and puts the tire to the limit — and he’s finding that limit. Stephen (Doran, crew chief) is giving him the cars he needs. He pushes the gas.”
Notably, van Gisbergen is having fun competing at a high level in NASCAR. The seven-time Cup victor is striving to continue his progression and learning from the best every week.
“I love the series and love racing everyone in it,” van Gisbergen said. “Certainly, the good guys in this series and the level they’re at is pretty impressive to see how they’re just always up there every week, so I’m trying to emulate that a bit.”
With qualifying getting canceled on Saturday due to rain, van Gisbergen will start Sunday’s Cracker Barrel 400 in 10th position per the metric, 25 spots better than his next closest Trackhouse teammate. During practice, however, Chastain paced the field on 15-, 20- and 25-lap averages, a promising sign for the Trackhouse bunch.