NASCAR Off Week Thoughts: Trackhouse Goals

Sadly, the NASCAR off week is here. After the off week, it will be a four race chase to make the Chase. Four tracks stand between the bubble drivers and making NASCAR’s latest reiteration of a postseason. Those tracks are Iowa, Richmond, New Hampshire, and Daytona. During this time off, there is plenty to think about for the teams on the bubble.

In my opinion, there is one team that comes to mind when I ask myself, “Which team needs to be doing the most thinking during this NASCAR off week?” Simply put, that team is Trackhouse Racing. Unfortunately, the 2026 season has not been too kind to Team Trackhouse. They currently only have one driver on the right side of the cutline. Somewhat unexepectedly, Shane van Gisbergen finds himself as the sole carrier of the Trackhouse weight when it comes to making the Chase.

As of this moment, SVG and the no. 97 team sit 15th in the points, 57 points above the cutline. Connor Zilisch is already eliminated from the Chase. Ross Chastain finds himself in 21st in points. Furthermore, Chastain is 82 points behind 16th place Austin Cindric. Trackhouse Racing definitely has the most to think about this NASCAR off week. Ergo, I thought I’d try and help do some of that thinking regarding what this team’s proper goals should be.

What Should be Trackhouse Racing’s Goals?

The biggest goal for Trackhouse needs to be getting the no. 97 car into the Chase. The most simple way to get this done would be to take that 57 point lead over the cutline and turn it into a 75 point lead prior to Daytona. (76 points would be the safest, but SVG has 2 wins and would likely win any tiebreaker.) This means that Shane van Gisbergen needs to only increase his lead over the cutline by 18 points over the course of three tracks in which he has shown decent speed. In 2025, SVG ended up wrecked at both Iowa and New Hampshire. Still, he ended up wrecked while running in the top 10 in both races.

As you can see in the video above, Shane van Gisbergen was running in the top 10 when he spun out. In this case, it was avoidable. That’s something the driver of the Trackhouse no. 97 Chevy needs to keep in mind heading to Iowa. Iowa would be a great place for him to pick up stage points and a top 10 finish. On the other hand, New Hampshire wasn’t really SVG’s fault. Brad Keselowski bounced off the inside wall and spun SVG out, as you can see in the video that follows.

New Hampshire is another place that SVG runs rather well. The goal there has to be earning stage points and grabbing a top 10 if not another top 5. As for Richmond, the 97 team needs to focus on qualifying well there. Last year, they qualified terribly and ended up with a decent finish. If the goal is to squeak by and make the playoffs, then that could work this year. Still, seeing how well Shane van Gisbergen ran at North Wilkesboro means he could do the very same at Richmond. The 97 needs to qualify well at all three of these tracks, score stage points, and finish top 10 or top 5, if they want to head to Daytona with a Chase birth clinched.

Aim for the Top of What is Possible

Yes, the no. 97 team and Shane van Gisbergen could look at this as a four race run to make the Chase. Daytona is just a huge question mark for literally everyone. In the end, Trackhouse may have to look at it that way. Still, it is VERY possible for them to clinch a Chase spot going into Daytona. In order for them to do that, they will need to qualify well.

Trackhouse as an entire organization needs to focus on this. There’s not a lot of wiggle room when it comes to “race manipulation.” Still, the 88 of Zilisch and the 1 of Chastain could make sure to race drivers like Austin Cindric, Ryan Preece, Erik Jones, Bubba Wallace, Brad Keselowski and Michael McDowell at a 110% level. That is within the rule book. Ryan Preece worries me the most because he is rather good at these upcoming tracks as well.

There is an outside chance that Ross Chastain could make the Chase as well. The 1 team should absolutely do their best to make the Chase without harming their teammate’s chances. This has been a rough year for Trackhouse. If something happens and neither Ross Chastain or Shane van Gisbergen make the Chase, then this year will have been an absolute 100% failure.

Anyhow, those are my NASCAR off week thoughts. As a Trackhouse fan, I hope they are Team Trackhouse’s off week thoughts as well. Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!