Shane van Gisbergen Confesses the New Championship Format Makes NASCAR “Hard for Him”

The NASCAR community is still discussing how the new championship format is going to change the Next-Gen era racing. It was recently announced that from 2026, the sport will adopt a 10-race chase format to crown that champion like they used to from 2004 to 2014. 16 best drivers in the points table from the regular season will fight it out for the title, instead of the old win and in system.

For Trackhouse Racing driver Shane van Gisbergen is a mega change, as he initially got the NASCAR opportunity due to his superior road course racing skill that made him a guaranteed playoff contender. With the new format he has to deliver on the ovals, where he has limited experience, to make it into the last 16. SVG admitted that he has a tough road ahead for him.

I think it kind of needed a change, but it’s hard for me. The reason I’m in the series is because of winning, right? But I feel like I’ve gotten better at ovals to where I don’t have to rely on it…Certainly going to be an achievement to make that top 16. But I think it’s a good target for us, and something that is achievable.

Shane van Gisbergen said via PRN Live.

Despite the challenge, he is confident in his capabilities and his team to make it into the last-16, which would be massive achievements for him. Further talking about the point, he asserted that the format change will benefit the elite drivers of the sport, making racing purer and the champion more legitimate.

I think it rewards those top guys now that are always winning, and they were the guys calling for it. For me, that’s more of a pure racing championship, so probably a good thing in there.

Shane van Gisbergen added.

Shane van Gisbergen is looking start the 2026 season strong

In the same conversation, the Kiwi racer talked more about how he has grown as a oval racer, with more races under his belt in NASCAR. He is getting more comfortable with thus style of racing and the more he races in ovals, the most efficient he is becoming.

I think so, just the knowledge. I’m going all these places for the second, third, fourth time, and I felt so much more comfortable at the end of last year.

Shane van Gisbergen said.

He also recalled the tough start he had for the start of the 2025 season, that saw him produce poor runs in every tracks other that road courses, earning him a spot outside the top-30 in the points table when the mid-season break came. Fortunately, he came back late in the season, winning multiple RC races and being more consistent in ovals.

I think I read that we would have been near the top 16 or right in there, and we were 35th or 58th or something in points halfway through the year. We had a really bad start to the year and still made it, so maybe we can do the same this year… It’d be really cool to start a lot stronger.

Shane van Gisbergen added.

The comments from the veteran explains why the new championship format is going to tough, as he has been on his A-game from race day one to make it into the last 16 on points, as most of his main competitors more consistent that he can be on ovals. It would be interesting to see how everything is going to playout for SVG in the 2026 season.

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