A.J. Allmendinger has to be one of the finest road course racers ever to grace NASCAR circuits. The veteran driver was in a league of his own as a road race specialist, but this tag soon came under fire with the meteoric rise of Shane van Gisbergen. In just two years or so, the Kiwi driver has crowned himself as the king of NASCAR road courses. This is something that even Allmendinger couldn’t deny.

SVG had a historic debut win at the Chicago Street Race in Chicago last year, and it was followed by three Xfinity wins in his rookie season with Kaulig. This has made A.J. Allmendinger look like a second fiddle at the Kaulig Racing this season. But, despite being a veteran driver and having dominated the road courses for so long, he feels that SVG is indeed a class act and even admits that he aspires to reach that benchmark.

How is SVG helping Allmendinger push the boundaries?

Shane van Gisbergen’s short yet successful stint can overshadow any full-time Xfinity racer, but that’s not true for Allmendinger. The driver of the No. 16 Kaulig Racing has 21 career wins out of which 14 have come on the road courses. Three at the Cup level, whereas 11 of them have been in the Xfinity Series.

So you see Allmendinger is evenly matched to Shane van Gisbergen when it comes to dominating road courses. But the only big hurdle for him is that now he has to compete against him to contest for wins. And so far, he hasn’t been able to match his strides in terms of coming up with the clutch moments in 2024.

SVG has had to work for his victories this year. He strong-armed Justin Allgaier for his win at Portland, where he ignited a rivalry with Austin Hill in his second win at Pocono. Not just the Xfinity stars; the Kiwi driver even outwitted Kyle Larson for his third win in the Chicago Street Race.

“You know, for me going against SVG, I know I’ve got to step my game up because he’s at a level that I have to get to,” Allmendinger said while speaking on NASCAR’s YouTube channel. Although he has yet to claim a win this year, two top-5 finishes at Portland and Watkins Glen suggest he is headed in the right direction.

Another Xfinity and Cup weekend, SVG couldn’t repeat his winning heroics in the road course race at Watkins Glen. A thrilling late-race battle between him and Chris Buescher during the Go Bowling At The Glen was indeed a treat for the race fans. But the feeling of finishing second on the back of an unforced error was a sucker punch for the Trackhouse Racing star driver.

Shane van Gisbergen getting the feel for his rookie Cup run at Watkins Glen

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SVG was met with an equally hungry and persistent driver, Chris Buescher, at the Glen last weekend. After multiple restart runs and battles, the Kiwi driver was finally able to put his bumper on the #17 Ford during the overtime restart. And all he needed to do was hold onto his lead for the two laps without any errors.

Usually, SVG hits his markers well on the track, keeping his rivals at bay to defend his lead. However, upon entering the bus stop section of the racetrack, the rear bumper of the #97 car collided with the inside wall during the entry. This caused him to lose his grip and grove and opened the door for Buescher, who was looking to return the favor for the restart chaos. And he was successful in pulling off a big move on SVG.

“I knew Chris was really going to send it and push me if he could get there, and as I turned back, I was a bit loose and clipped the inside wall. Just driver error, and I’m gutted. The race was really awesome there with Ross [Chastain] and Chris [Buescher] and the others at the end. I’m gutted we couldn’t get it. We had a lot of fun, but I’m pretty angry at myself.” SVG said this after the race.

Shane van Gisbergen finally proved he was indeed human on the road course races. And perhaps got the feel of what racking against the top dogs in NASCAR would feel like next year.