“He Is in Another Stratosphere!” Jimmie Johnson Breaks Silence on Road Course GOAT Debate Over Shane van Gisbergen 

Hall of Famer Jimmie Johnson has shared his thoughts on road course GOAT conversations about Trackhouse’s Shane van Gisbergen.

“He Is in Another Stratosphere!” Jimmie Johnson Breaks Silence on Road Course GOAT Debate Over Shane van Gisbergen 

Shane van Gisbergen and Jimmie Johnson (Via IMAGO)

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The 2025 NASCAR Cup Season so far has witnessed road course racing dominance the sport has never scene with Shane van Gisbergen. The Kiwi racer won three road course type races this year with ease in the No:88 Trackhouse Chevy, while everyone else was playing catch up. Now seven times Cup champion Jimmie Johnson has shared his thoughts on GOAT talks regarding the veteran.

Hometown hero Jimmie Johnson was present for the San Diego 2026 NASCAR Street race announcement and was asked about Shane van Gisbergen’s dominance, with this track offering him another shot at win next year. The Legacy Motor Club co-owner asserted that though the time isn’t put labels, it true that the veteran is on another level in no-ovals races compared to the rest.

It’s tough to put that label on a guy two seasons into driving stock cars. But the conversation is warranted. I think time will tell. He is in another stratosphere compared to road course racers.

Jimmie Johnson said during San Diego Street race announcement (Cup Scene).

The veteran talking about the situation, shared his wish of seeing Shane van Gisbergen race the former Cup champions Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon, two drivers that set the standard for road course racing in the sport. If SVG raced the duo, when they were in their prime, NASCAR would have had an amazing race product.

Seeing him up against Tony Stewart at his peak, that would have been an interesting time to see peak to peak. Even Jeff Gordon. We’ve had drivers go on a run on road courses in the past.

Jimmie Johnson added.

Jimmie Johnson explains what it will take for Shane van Gisbergen to be the GOAT

Further talking about the point, Jimmie Johnson explained what it is going to take for the three times Supercars champion to become the GOAT of road course racing in the history of NASCAR. The veteran believes if SVG stays performing the same level as he is at the moment, in the next five to ten years, the question about his status will no longer be valid.

Jimmie Johnson
Jimmie Johnson (Via IMAGO)

The greatest of all time, I think that is kind of given to someone over a long duration of time, versus just a couple of years. The skills he (SVG) has, if he stays in the sport for five, 10 years, in my mind, the way I view it, I would then start to think greatest of all time.

Jimmie Johnson said.

Right now, it isn’t the time for greatest road course racer in the history of stock car racing conversations and the time will come once he consistently produces similar runs in the Cup Car with Trackhouse Racing. SVG can starts silencing the doubters starting from the Watkins Glen race in August and the Charlotte ROVAL race on October.

Fastest guy to be in a car, in a Cup car, that conversation is timely. Greatest of all time, we need more sample sets to choose from.

Jimmie Johnson added.

But this isn’t going to be easy for the veteran driver, as the rest of the cup grid is more than determined about defeating him after losing the spot light when it comes to road courses. The teams will also will be working on different aspects of the cars, learning from the veterans’ dominance in order to give their driver a good shot at winning races.

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