NASCAR fans and top drivers alike, need to check that rear view mirror (or video screen these days). If they do, they’ll see that number 97 Team Trackhouse car catching up to them on oval courses. SVG’s improvement on ovals is progressing at what should be an alarming pace. Yes, given the results at COTA, one might say the field is catching SVG on road courses. Still, I’d argue Shane van Gisbergen is catching the field on ovals, faster than they are catching him on road courses.
COTA was the one road course race that he did not win in his rookie season. He finished 6th. This year at COTA he finished 2nd. I think once we get to Watkins Glen, then we will be able to tell more about the field’s relative strength when compared to SVG. This year the big story with the 97 Trackhouse car is SVG’s improvement on ovals. Heck, he is leading Trackhouse in the points.
In the above video, SVG expressed being “p***ed off” that he fell one position short of finishing the day with a top 10 at Martinsville. That should terrify the field. One must keep in mind that Trackhouse Racing is struggling with their cars this season as Ross Chastain pointed out. Still, SVG is getting everything he can out of the cars. Furthermore, he is very humble and doesn’t place heavy expectations on his team. I watch his in car camera every week and “live tweet” his race on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. He apologized to his team at Martinsville for losing too many positions on a restart which led him to finish outside the top 10. You know the 97 team is going to do everything they can for their driver who treats them with top level respect.
Comparing 2025 to 2026 (thus far)
At this point in the season last year, SVG’s highest finish on an oval was 23rd at EchoPark Speedway (the track formerly known as Atlanta). His highest oval finish this year is at that same track. In 2026, SVG finished in 6th position, one spot away from grabbing his first oval top 5. Atlanta, as many of us old-school fans sadly know, is now a superspeedway, drafting type of track. If you’re an SVG-hater, then you’ll point to that fact to detract from reality.
Seven races into 2025 that 23rd place finish was his only top 30 finish on an oval. This year, other than Daytona and Las Vegas, SVG has finished in the top 15 in every oval, so far. Furthermore, neither Daytona nor Las Vegas were SVG’s fault. The weirdness of the aerodynamics of this next gen car, caused him to spin at Vegas. He pulled off a great save, but damaged the splitter as the car slid onto the apron. Daytona’s finish was due to damage as well.
Image Credit: Andy Coffey — Pit Pass Network (with more horsepower this season, tire management will be even more important.)
In 2025, SVG finished 31st at the first Phoenix race. This year he improved on that result by finishing 11th and leading laps. Last season Homestead was scheduled where the first Darlington race is scheduled this season. He finished 32nd at Homestead last year. He improved that finish to a 14th place at Darlington in 2026, which is still an improvement over his 20th place finish at Throwback weekend at Darlington in 2025. Finally, in 2025 he finished 34th at Martinsville. This season that finish was improved to an 11th place finish. Furthermore, he ran in the top 10 all day and earned a decent amount of stage points.
Will this improvement continue?
Yes, SVG’s improvement on ovals is impressive, thus far. Many fans may have been worried about the end of the “win and you’re in” era of the NASCAR postseason playoff. Shane van Gisbergen is almost a guaranteed win on one of the few road courses we race on. He made the playoffs last year because he had won a race. It was actually 5 wins, but he was still only eligible because he had won. This year you have to make the top 16 in points to qualify for the new-ish chase format. Right now, Shane van Gisbergen is 14th in points. Given his improved performance on ovals. I think it is now fair to expect the 97 team to be in the chase.
Now the detractors will say that we are only 7 races into 2026. They have a point. This next race is at Bristol Motor Speedway. SVG would probably tell you this is his weakest track. Last season he brought home 38th and 26th place finishes at Bristol. After Bristol though, the Cup series heads to Kansas, where last season he picked up 20th and 10th place finishes. Kansas is the track where he earned his first top 10 on an oval. If you pull up his page on Wikipedia and scroll down to the NASCAR Cup Series section where it shows every finishing position, you will see a trend of improvement on just about every type of oval.
Image Credit: Andy Coffey — Pit Pass Network (Bristol is SVG’s self-proclaimed toughest oval)
This upcoming weekend’s race at Bristol could tell us a lot. On the other hand, it could tell us nothing. If I’m being honest, I’m not expecting a top 15 finish and a Martinsville type of day for SVG. I will be happy with continued improvement and a top 25 finish. If that is indeed the result, Bristol won’t tell us a whole lot. Yet still, if that 97 car runs like it did at Martinsville and we see a top 15 finish, then Bristol will tell us a lot. It will tell everyone that SVG is here to stay as long as he likes. Finally, it will tell the field to watch out.