“The Evolution of SVG!” Kevin Harvick Declares Shane van Gisbergen Is Too Good for NASCAR Drivers in Road Courses

2014 Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick explained how dominant Trackhouse Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen is on road courses.

“The Evolution of SVG!” Kevin Harvick Declares Shane van Gisbergen Is Too Good for NASCAR Drivers in Road Courses

Kevin Harvick and Shane van Gisbergen (Via IMAGO and @TeamTrackhouse/X)

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The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season starter tough for rookie Shane van Gisbergen, as the three times Supercars champion was finding it hard to produce solid results in the ovals. But once the road course racing stretch starter he has been the driver to beat. According to 2014 Cup champion Kevin Harvick the racer has become too good in no-ovals tracks compared to rest of the garage.

Shane van Gisbergen secured his maiden win of the season at Mexico City, the inaugural race at the venue and secured his second with last Sunday at Chicago Street race dominant run. Both the victories were dominant, as no other driver was able to give him a consistent fight for race win in the whole race.

Assessing this situation, Kevin Harvick on the Happy Hour podcast, the ex-racer asserted that SVG has evolved in the last three years in NASCAR, and the experience has helped him to grow. There has bene only two drivers that has given him a true fight, JGR driver Ty Gibbs in the Cup and his Trackhouse Racing teammate Connor Zilisch in the Xfinity scene, as well as in selected Cup events.

We’re really seeing the evolution of SVG. Now, that gap between how fast he is, compared to the guys behind him, is starting to grow. I think that the closest guy to him, over the last two road courses, has been Ty Gibbs. I think the closest guy to him moving forward will be Connor Zilisch, in that mix, going forward at Watkins Glen.

Kevin Harvick said via Happy Hour podcast.

Initially when SVG came into the sport, the car was much different compared to what he drove back in his V8 Supercars days. But now he is more comfortable and the consistent support he has from Trackhouse has helped him to develop into a better racer. He is becoming more and dominant in the road courses. Fortunately for some mid-field Cup racers, the same growth isn’t happening in the oval side.

But I think his experience in the car, knowing what he wants in the car, being more comfortable as a Cup driver, having the same crew chief week-in and week-out, the same team week-in and week-out, has allowed him to evolve in what he likes even better than he had before. I think it’s just making him more dominant on the road courses.

Kevin Harvick added.

Shane van Gisbergen asserts NASCAR move was the best decision of his life

The decision to leave everything he built back in the Supercars and moving to the USA to become one of the many racers from a dominant champion was significant for SVG. He believes his recent performance proves he made the right call, and Justin Marks was right to give him the ride the first time back in 2023.

Shane van Gisbergen
CHARLOTTE, NC – MAY 26: Shane Van Gisbergen 16 Kaulig Racing WeatherTech Chevrolet walks down the pre-race stage prior to the running of the NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 on May 26, 2024 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Charlotte, NC. Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire AUTO: MAY 26 NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon240526804600

It justifies, or backs up, why we’ve done it and why Justin [Marks] believes in me. Justin looks like the smartest guy here after me locking into the playoffs, especially how dismal it looked early in the year. We all kept that belief.

Shane van Gisbergen told RACER.

He sees this as the best decision he made in his career as he hated racing in Australia, with the changed that was made to the cars. SVG was missing the fun of racing and NASCAR gave him the opportunity to rekindle the fire he lost.

Yeah, I feel like I made the best decision ever. I was really hating racing in Australia. I hated driving those cars. Now, I’ve never had so much fun racing, going to the racetrack every single weekend. I really love what I do.

Shane van Gisbergen added.

The comments from the Kiwi racer shows he is really enjoying the new chapter of his career and is expecting more solid results in the coming years. It would be interesting to see how long it would take the veteran race car driver to convert his strong road course racing form to wins in the Ovla tracks.

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