Shane van Gisbergen, the road course king, was a favorite going into the Watkins Glen race. As, in his NASCAR career so far, all of his wins have come on road courses. First in his debut Cup Series race in 2023 on the Chicago Street circuit and then in the current Xfinity season where he’s bagged three wins (Portland, Sonoma, and Chicago).

However, Watkins Glen wasn’t kind to the Kiwi. Earlier, in the Xfinity Series race, SVG finished 5th as the prodigy and his Trackhouse teammate Connor Zilisch bagged his first Xfinity win on his debut race. Van Gisbergen hoped to get redemption in the Cup race, where he started from P3 but was denied the win after an intense battle with Chris Buescher. SVG was recently promoted to the Cup Series and will be running a full season next year with Trackhouse. Hopefully, he will show the same performance he did in the Xfinity and qualify for the playoffs. However, due to his bad luck, Watkins Glen won’t be part of the playoffs next season.

Shane van Gisbergen’s road advantage reduced in the 2025 playoffs

This was the first time “The Glen” got the opportunity to host the playoffs. Adding two road courses to the 10-race lineup was bound to make things interesting, as it rightfully did! On the last overtime restart, SVG took the lead in a three-wide move from the inside line. He bolted towards the finish line, but Chris Buescher wasn’t going to let a win go so easily. Buscher on the bus stop pinched the Kiwi, taking the inside line and surging ahead.

SVG tried to catch him and momentarily also lost some grip in the effort. However, in the end, the RFK Racing driver bagged his first win of the season. Van Gisbergen was the favorite, but Buescher too is a road course master. In his last nine road course races, he’s finished 8 times in the top 1o. SVG will mostly look for a payback in next season’s Watkins Glen race.

However, if SVG qualifies in the 2025 Cup playoffs, he won’t find Watkins Glen there. NASCAR recently announced the 2025 schedule, and the track has been moved out of the playoffs. This has left the 2025 playoff lineup with only one road course and the Kiwi’s advantage has been cut in half. In a recent GoPRNlive episode, NASCAR insiders joked about SVG now campaigning to get the race back in the playoffs.

NASCAR journalist Kim Coon was also on the panel and echoed SVG’s emotions. She said laughing, “I didn’t hear him (SVG campaign) but probably man, it’s almost like you’re mad it’s (Watkins Glen) not now (in the playoffs). I know this when the schedule came out people were like oh you know two road course style tracks in the playoffs with Watkins Glenn and the ROVAL. and two superspeedways and then the schedule comes out for 2025 Watkins Glenn’s not in anymore and I think after seeing it in the playoffs I wish it was again.”

The race was proof enough that the two-road course experiment of NASCAR was a success. Coupled with the new tire compound, which had a rapid wear-off rate of 3 seconds, it became more thrilling as the tires allowed for easier passing. Hence Buescher starting from P24 could win against an SVG starting from P3. Hopefully, NASCAR will rethink its decision in 2026 and include the track back in the playoffs.

Despite a P2 finish, SVG was bummed out after the race. In the post-race interview, he said, “I knew Chris was really going to send it and push me if he could get there. As I turned and got a bit loose and clipped the inside wall and driver error. I’m gutted.” Yet, the NASCAR community is still hailing him as the road course king.

The NASCAR community is impressed with SVG after Watkins Glen

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Only in his first full-time season in NASCAR, how has SVG already made a name for himself? Don’t mistake him for a rookie. His road course prowess comes from racing supercars in Australia. He is, in fact, a three-time supercar champion. He won the titles in 2016 and then went on to win it back-to-back in 2021 and 2022. He started his supercar career in 2007 and it spanned for a decade and a half, ending in 2022. During which he bagged 80 career wins and 46 pole positions. He is the 4th winningest driver in supercar history.

His losing out on a back-to-back road course race had many questions about his ability. But Denny Hamlin came to his rescue. Hamlin, post the race, said, “Put someone in the lead on a road course last lap; you’re going to pick SVG 100 out of 100 times, but you’re human; it’s high stakes, and you know people make mistakes.”

The thrilling last lap was also discussed in the recent Kevin Harvick’s podcast “Happy Hour.” Where the co-host and NASCAR Analyst Mamba Smith applauded SVG’s run. He said, “Shane van Gisbergen is wrecking out of that corner (Turn 6) and makes up time. I think that is the craziest part of that (because) SVG running that car sideways, closing the gap. I think if he was a little bit more under control, he might have tried to dive it in the last corner, but if he does right there, I think they’re both wrecking. So that was a (expletive) move.”

It would be great to see the Trackhouse driver more in the Cup, entertaining and impressing everyone with his experience. Are you excited about SVG driving a full Cup Season next year? Share your thoughts with us in the comments down below.