Well the final short track race of the season is complete now. NASCAR’s favorite kiwi, SVG, started p29. To be honest, I was rather worried after watching practice and qualifying. Thankfully, I was wrong to worry. Crew chief Stephen Doran put together a great pit strategy in a race during which there were many strategies, especially in stage one. As a result, Shane van Gisbergen stayed on the lead lap, had a somewhat clean race, and grabbed another top 5 oval finish. SVG finished p5 at Martinsville.

Grabbing his 3rd top 5 on an oval was an important moment, given that his 3 other top 5 finishes all came on road courses this year, with two of them being wins. This year, Shane van Gisbergen grabbed a top 5 at Nashville, North Wilkesboro, and now Martinsville. He also grabbed a top 5 at COTA, and won both Watkins Glen and Sonoma. They say there is a sophmore slump, or they used to back when I first started watching NASCAR. Shane van Gisbergen did just barely miss the Chase this year, but he has improved greatly.

Still that wasn’t the most interesting thing from Shane this weekend. During his postrace interview, he mentioned that Trackhouse has some big team changes coming. What did he mean? Does it have anything to do with Brad Keselowski?

What did SVG mean?

Recently, I’ve been binge watching “Game of Thrones.” I’d never watched it before, but I got pulled into the fantasy universe by watching “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.” This, in turn, led me to check out “House of the Dragon.” You see where I’m headed here. My mind is very much on who gets which throne/seat. There are a lot of unanswered questions about Brad Keselowski’s future, and that is exactly where my mind went. As you can see in the X thread above, I’m not the only one thinking about BK at TH. Is this what SVG meant?

SVG

Trackhouse Racing

Despite the killer show that RFK Racing put on at Talladega, Brad Keselowski announced that the team and he had settled on the ownership side of things. BK is free to go next season. He wants to still drive. Alex Bowman wanted to be done after this season, but agreed with Hendrick Motorsports to drive for another year, so they could bring in Connor Zilisch in 2028.

Honestly, looking at the surface of it all, it looks like it could very easily be possible to see Brad Keselowski driving the 88 once again, next year. Originally, I expected him to go race trucks for a season and bring Dodge with him to Trackhouse in 2028. As a Trackhouse fan, I have to be honest. I’d like to see the switch happen early. I’d prefer they stay with Chevy and sign a deal with HMS to use HMS engines rather than ECR engines. That’s what would be best for Trackhouse in the short term. A manufacturer shift seems like too long of a project. SVG was old for a rookie last season. He is probably the most talented driver in the field. I’d rank him with Kyle Larson, but I think he may even have a higher ceiling than Larson.

What do you think SVG meant?

So what do you, the fan, think about Shane van Gisbergen’s postrace comments at Martinsville? Is it something major like Brad Keselowski coming to drive the 88 and Connor leaving early? Or is it something like bringing in a new competition director? I’d love to see Rodney Childers working back in the Cup series again, with my new favorite team. (My previous one was Stewart-Haas Racing, specifically Kevin Havick and the 4 car.)

Is it possible he is talking about a manufacturer? Whatever it is, it sounds like he will be there with Team Trackhouse as they go through these “big team changes.” Let us know what you think in the comments section below!

SVG

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