Shane van Gisbergen, a New Zealand native and two-time NASCAR Cup Series race winner on road and street courses, is focusing on improving his performance on oval tracks as the 2026 season progresses. Currently ranked 14th in the standings with eight races remaining in the regular season, van Gisbergen holds a provisional spot in NASCAR’s playoff field, known as the Chase, which includes the top 16 drivers.

Van Gisbergen’s transition to oval racing, which comprises the majority of the Cup Series schedule, has presented challenges. Prior to joining NASCAR three years ago, van Gisbergen had only competed on road and street circuits. His experience with ovals remains comparatively limited but has shown steady progress during his second full season in the series. This year, in 14 starts on ovals, his average finish has improved to 20.9, compared with 24.8 over 30 oval races last season.

The 37-year-old driver, who competes for Trackhouse Racing, secured his first top-five finish on an oval track in May with a fifth-place result at Nashville Superspeedway. Despite this breakthrough, he acknowledges that significant improvement is still required to become competitive over the remaining 18 oval races, which will determine the playoff standings.

Van Gisbergen’s success on road courses remains a strong suit, highlighted by his victory at Sonoma Raceway on Sunday—his eighth win in 15 career starts on roads and streets. However, with NASCAR’s title chase heavily weighted toward oval performance, van Gisbergen understands that enhancing his oval skill set is critical to extending his playoff run and mounting a championship bid.

“I’ve still got a long way to go,” van Gisbergen said. “I’m getting there ... but I still need to get a lot better.” As the Cup Series heads deeper into its oval-heavy schedule, van Gisbergen and Trackhouse Racing are focused on closing the gap and building momentum heading into the postseason.