Shane van Gisbergen has a secure spot in the playoffs after winning the inaugural Cup Series race in Mexico City. Yet he knows he needs to continue making major progress on oval tracks to justify his spot at Trackhouse Racing.
Yes, the team knew that van Gisbergen could deliver at least one win on a street or road course to boost the No. 88's end-of-season charter payout, but the goal wasn't simply to show up and be a Round of 16 exit.
"That's why I'm here, to win road races," van Gisbergen said after winning in Mexico City. "But I'm not here to run last on the ovals either. I need to keep getting better to justify being a Cup Series driver.
"I need to be performing on the ovals, too. I feel like we're really making strides, but yeah, this is what I'm here to do, make the playoffs, put another Trackhouse car in the playoffs."
Van Gisbergen's first season as a full-time Cup Series driver began with some struggles on the track. He finished 31st or worse in six of the first 10 races. This stretch included crashes at Phoenix and Las Vegas, as well as a suspension-caused DNF at Bristol.
His best finish on a traditional oval was 20th at Darlington. His lone top-10 finish was sixth at Circuit of the Americas.
The situation has changed as van Gisbergen has taken on the spring stretch featuring multiple oval tracks. He finished 22nd at Texas, 20th at Kansas, 14th in the Coca-Cola 600, 25th at Nashville, and 18th at Michigan. His average finish in this stretch is 19.8, compared to 28.0 in the first 10 races.
"I am getting better and more competitive on ovals," van Gisbergen added. "I said earlier, my average oval running position has gone from 85th to 10th to 20th or 10th to 15th on a good day."
"Like we're really making a lot of progress and sort of not been forcing. I've been methodical, got better every got better every week, and it'll been really fun working with my 88 crew all year, but the last couple of months, yeah, it's been great to show some improvement and be competitive."
Van Gisbergen continues to seek his first top-10 finish on an oval track at NASCAR's top level. He will have more opportunities to pursue this throughout the summer with trips to Dover, Richmond, Iowa, and Indianapolis. Whether he accomplishes this remains to be seen, but the progress he makes could play a crucial role in whether he survives the Round of 16 featuring Darlington, Gateway, and Bristol.