Shane van Gisbergen reacted to his first NASCAR Cup start at Richmond on Saturday, where he finished a season-best tying 14th.
There have been so many wins for Shane van Gisbergen on road courses this year that it’s a little easy to forget he’s still a relative newcomer to NASCAR in general. Richmond provided an interesting opportunity.
Van Gisbergen is looking to prove he can do more than just win road courses. And to that end, getting experience at some of the other tracks is key.
Saturday was his first start at Richmond. And Shane van Gisbergen more than held his own. He finished P14 on the day, a very encouraging showing as the playoffs near.
“That was fun! A good recovery and great result in my first Cup start at Richmond,” he said, per NBC Sports’ Nate Ryan. “Tire strategy was huge tonight and my No. 88 team did an awesome job executing. Some good momentum for us as we get closer to the playoffs. Looking forward to seeing what we can accomplish at Daytona.”
The 14th-place finish tied Shane van Gisbergen’s best finish on a non-road course this season. He also finished 14th at Charlotte earlier in the year.
If he can continue trending in the right direction on ovals he’s got a chance to become a serious threat in the playoffs and beyond. There’s still work to be done, to be sure, but he seems to be making strides as he gets more familiar with the various track offerings.
Kevin Harvick recently opened up on the possibility that the entire discourse around Shane van Gisbergen could change should he win on an oval. Right now, he’s seen as a master of the road courses but a bit of a one-trick pony.
But he’s won so much so fast on the road courses that many in the sport aren’t quite sure where he fits in. Harvick offered a comparison.
“You look at the guy they’re comparing him to in how fast he’s won two of these starts,” Harvick said. “It’s Dan Gurney, OK, from the ’60s. That’s what we’re comparing it to. It’s not like this is different. It’s not something new, it’s just something that most fans don’t recognize because they don’t know anything about the 1960s and the NASCAR history.
“The guy that SVG is getting compared to is Dan Gurney. And that happened a long time ago. So it’s not new.”
Can Shane van Gisbergen break the mold and win on an oval? Time will tell. But Saturday was a definite step in the right direction.
Category: General Sports
