“I have never been so confident” Shane van Gisbergen expressed his emotions after his first breakthrough at the Cup oval amid Kansas’ initial defeat

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — In the high-stakes world of NASCAR Cup Series racing, where every lap can swing fortunes and the roar of engines drowns out doubt, Shane van Gisbergen found a moment of pure elation amid the chaos of the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway. The New Zealand sensation, piloting the No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet Camaro, clawed his way to a career-best 10th-place finish on the unforgiving 1.5-mile oval—a milestone that marked his first top-10 result on such a track in the premier series. Despite starting the race under a cloud of penalties that left him a lap down from the green flag, van Gisbergen’s post-race words cut through the disappointment of the team’s early setbacks like a victory lap: “I have never been so confident.”

The 36-year-old van Gisbergen, known to fans as SVG, has been a revelation in NASCAR since his audacious debut in 2023, when he stunned the field by winning on a road course at Chicago Street Race in his very first Cup start. That triumph, part of Trackhouse’s innovative Project 91 initiative to bridge international talent into American stock car racing, catapulted him from Supercars dominance Down Under to a full-time seat in the No. 88 for the 2025 season. But ovals—those flat, abrasive beasts that demand a different breed of mastery—have been his steepest learning curve. Prior to Sunday, his best oval finish in Cup competition stood at 12th, a gritty run at Martinsville in late 2024. This year, he’d scraped to 14th at the Coca-Cola 600 and Richmond, but consistency eluded him on the high-banked intermediates like Kansas.

Trouble brewed even before the engines fired up. On Saturday, during pre-race inspections, NASCAR officials discovered unapproved adjustments to the No. 88’s setup, a violation that carried severe consequences. Crew chief Stephen Doran, the steady hand guiding van Gisbergen through his rookie campaign, was ejected from the event, leaving interim crew chief Chais Eliason to step into the spotlight. Van Gisbergen was forced to start from the rear of the field and serve a stop-and-go penalty right after the green flag dropped on the rescheduled Monday afternoon race, thanks to lingering weather delays from the weekend. “It was a tough pill to swallow,” van Gisbergen admitted later, his Kiwi accent laced with resolve. “Starting a lap down feels like running with one hand tied behind your back. But that’s racing—adapt or get left in the dust.”

As the field thundered into turn one under sunny skies, van Gisbergen’s Camaro—adorned in Red Bull livery that paid homage to his global sponsors—fought for every inch. The 267-lap grind unfolded in stages of attrition, with Kansas’s progressive banking testing drivers’ patience and precision. Stage 1 ended with van Gisbergen just outside the Lucky Dog free pass, mired in 28th after the early penalty sapped his momentum. But Eliason’s quick thinking on pit strategy and van Gisbergen’s unyielding drive began to pay dividends. By the end of Stage 2, he’d carved his way into the top 15, methodically picking off cars plagued by tire wear or miscues.

Drama escalated in Stage 3, the meat of the race where points and pride hung in the balance. A mid-stage skirmish saw William Byron’s No. 24 nudge van Gisbergen’s rear, spinning him into contact with Alex Bowman’s Hendrick Motorsports entry. The impact jarred the No. 88, sending a ripple of concern through the Trackhouse garage. “I thought that was it—felt like the right front took a hit,” van Gisbergen recounted. But a hasty inspection revealed no major damage, and he soldiered on, radioing Eliason with calm urgency: “We’re good, mate. Let’s keep pushing.” That resilience shone as cautions flew like confetti. A massive pileup involving John Hunter Nemechek, Ty Gibbs, and Josh Berry red-flagged the action, turning the track into a debris-strewn battlefield. Van Gisbergen emerged unscathed, positioned ninth for the final overtime restart with just a handful of laps remaining.

The green waved, and chaos reigned anew. Cars jostled for position in the slipstream, tires screaming as drivers danced on the edge of control. Van Gisbergen held his line, fending off a charging Ross Chastain—his Trackhouse teammate in the No. 1 Chevrolet—who nipped at his heels but couldn’t find a way through. As the checkered flag flew, Chase Elliott claimed the win for Hendrick, his third of the season and a playoff booster, while van Gisbergen crossed the stripe in 10th, edging Chastain by mere car lengths. It was a hard-fought salvage from what could have been a forgettable day, transforming initial defeat into a personal triumph.

In victory lane interviews, Elliott praised the field’s intensity: “Kansas never disappoints—it’s a beast.” But it was van Gisbergen who stole the emotional thunder. Climbing from his car, sweat-streaked and grinning beneath his firesuit, he pulled off his helmet to a smattering of cheers from the international fan contingent waving Kiwi flags in the stands. “I have never been so confident,” he declared to NBC Sports’ Marty Snider, his voice cracking with genuine surprise. “It’s just a process of learning; I’m getting better every time out. To dig out of that hole, with the penalties and the wrecks—man, it feels unreal. Stoked for Chais and the team; they didn’t quit on me.”

That confidence isn’t bravado; it’s forged in fire. Van Gisbergen’s 2025 season has been a tale of two tracks. On road and street courses, he’s untouchable, racking up four wins—including a dominant pole-to-checker masterclass at Watkins Glen just last month—making him the winningest rookie in Cup history for a single season. Those victories have locked in his playoff berth, a remarkable feat for a driver adapting to a new continent, new rules, and a car that feels worlds away from his V8 Supercars roots. Ovals, however, have been the great equalizer, exposing the gaps in his stock car apprenticeship. Kansas, with its tri-oval layout and high speeds topping 190 mph, amplified those challenges. Yet here he was, not just surviving but thriving, his lap times dipping into the elite tier by race’s end.

Team owner Justin Marks, watching from afar after the penalties sidelined key personnel, lauded the grit. “Shane’s got that racer’s heart—doesn’t matter the setback, he finds a way,” Marks said in a Trackhouse release. Eliason, thrust into the crew chief role, echoed the sentiment: “SVG drove like a veteran today. We took our medicine early and built from there. Proud of this top 10; it’s a building block.” For van Gisbergen, married to Corvette Racing program manager Jessica Dane since earlier this year, the result hits deeper. Away from the track, he’s embraced Stateside life in North Carolina, balancing family with the grind of 36 races. “Racing here has changed me,” he reflected. “The ovals teach patience, something I wasn’t big on back home. But now? I feel like I belong.”

As the sun dipped low over the Kansas heartland, crews packed up under the glow of stadium lights, the air thick with the scent of burnt rubber and promise. Van Gisbergen’s breakthrough isn’t just a finish line crossed; it’s a declaration. With the playoffs looming and the Charlotte Roval next on the docket—a road course where he’s the hunted favorite—his words linger like exhaust fumes. Confidence, once tentative on ovals, now burns bright. In a series built on redemption arcs, SVG’s story is just revving up. For a driver who’s conquered streets and circuits worldwide, taming the Cup oval might be his greatest win yet—not in the points, but in the soul.