What a season Shane Van Gisbergen has had in the Xfinity Series! In his debut season, SVG has already bagged three wins, along with five top 5s and six top 10s. What’s amazing is that all of SVG’s wins have come on road courses. Following this, the NASCAR community has crowned him the undisputed road course king! The throne was previously held by AJ Allmendinger, whose career has seen the majority of his wins come on road courses. However, the veteran has struggled this year, going winless and losing his crown.

This year, the regular season only had three road courses, hence SVG bagged three wins. Had there been more, the #97 would have continued his wrath. As of now, NASCAR has not officially released its 2025 schedule, but some reports and analysts are discussing the possibility of having five road courses in the 2025 regular season. If that happens, we might see SVG promoted to the Cup Series next season. Hasn’t he already shown us a preview of his Cup Series road course dominance with his win at last year’s Chicago street race?

Shane Van Gisbergen in the NASCAR Cup series 2025?

In the regular season of the Cup Series, there were only three road courses as Watkins Glen was pushed into the playoffs. The only road courses included the Chicago Street Race, Sonoma Raceway, and Circuit of the Americas. In the Cup Series, we currently don’t have a road course king as all three tracks had different winners. But that might change next year. According to NASCAR analyst Eric Estepp, the number of road courses in the 2025 season is likely to increase. SVG coming to the Cup would be like bees being attracted to honey.

In Estepp’s recent video, he said, “Next year especially if NASCAR gets that Mexico date squared away there will likely be at least five regular season road course races. Walkins Glenn is going to move back into the regular season according to the report. Chicago sticking around, Kota of course, Sonoma, and the Glenn can they get that Mexico date? What if they also get like a Montreal date or something like who knows at least five road courses are expected to be on next year’s regular season schedule.” Five road courses would definitely make things interesting as they pose a unique challenge, making the competition more thrilling.

What is also interesting is that SVG can most likely come to the Cup Series as the third driver for the Trackhouse Racing team. The Stewart-Haas Racing team is shutting down operations next season, and their charters are going to go up for sale. It’s rumored that Trackhouse owner Justin Marks is eyeing one of them. With a stable of five drivers, Trackhouse Racing has a strong contingent of racing talent. The team includes established names like Ross Chastain and Daniel Suárez, as well as up-and-comers Zane Smith and prodigy Connor Zilisch. Additionally, they’ve added international star Shane Van Gisbergen to their roster.

Out of the mix, the Kiwi driver seems like the most suitable option for a promotion. He’s got the highest wins in Xfinity so far this season—a performance that Trackhouse desperately needs in the Cup Series. Currently, for Trackhouse, Ross Chastain is struggling with a winless season, and Daniel Suárez’s performance has been average, other than his Atlanta victory, of course. A new addition to the team could prove fruitful in increasing their overall chances.

However, a boon also comes with a bane. Not all races in the Cup Series are road courses. What about Phoenix? How would SVG compete for a championship based solely on his road course prowess?

Shane Van Gisbergen has struggled on Ovals

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The road course king struggles on ovals. Out of all the races that have happened so far, Shane Van Gisbergen has only finished twice in the top five on an oval. One was at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, where he got a podium finish, and the second was the recent Indianapolis race, where he finished in P4.

After the race, SVG was happy for finally getting some success on an oval. According to him, he would keep getting better. He said, “I feel like I have been getting better every week with the ovals and improving and I’m just patient, I guess. I just build up, get better and better. And in the race I got more confident. It’s just really fun racing, you know, these Xfinity cars are awesome to race.” However, he did not seem any better in the Michigan qualifying, where he will start from the 23rd position in the upcoming race.

Hopefully, the race result will prove us wrong. SVG has the ability and the capability to win races. However, what would really help the #97 is improving his oval game, making him an all-around championship contender for the Cup Series. What do you think are SVG’s chances in the Cup? Let us know in the comments below.