Three-time Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen has been a sensation in the racing world. From being one of the youngest Supercars champions, Gisbergen is now preparing for his NASCAR Cup Series debut. He will be driving the No. 88 Chevrolet for Trackhouse Racing in the 2025 season.

Notably, his journey to Cup Series hasn’t been without its share of challenges. After three titles in Supercars, Gisbergen made his NASCAR debut in 2024 with Kaulig Racing in Xfinity Series. He soon became a household name with seven top 5 finishes and three race wins. His amazing run included two back-to-back race wins at Portland and Sonoma. However, ahead of his Cup Series debut, Gisbergen spoke about one of NASCAR’s biggest problems.

NASCAR’s gruelling schedule troubles SVG

As Shane van Gisbergen is preparing for his much-anticipated premier series debut, he revealed his biggest struggle in American series. In the latest episode of KTM Summer Grill, Gisbergen revealed how he tackled NASCAR’s scheduling issues. He also revealed that racing on different tracks every week is very demanding.

He said, “That’s something I tried to do last few years race as much as I could. You know we didn’t race enough in the V8s and yeah, getting to race every week was awesome. You know what you’re racing what you’re doing. You could prepare straight away and every Monday or Tuesday and, yeah as long as you have fun it’s good.” Notably, Supercars has a smaller schedule, with 12–15 events spread across the year. This gives drivers and crew more breaks for preparation and recovery. On the other hand, the NASCAR Cup Series has a tough schedule with about 36 races a season. It runs almost every weekend from February to November.

This means drivers have very little time to recover and prepare for the next race. It also becomes hard to stay motivated throughout the season, especially when you are driving on different tracks. Speaking about it Gisbergen said, “There were a few weeks where we had a couple of rough weeks in a row, and it gets you know hard to be motivated… So, it’s hard to get that momentum going because the challenges are so variable. It’s pretty cool.”

Shane van Gisbergen’s journey to NASCAR

Since a very young age, Shane van Gisbergen has been fond of racing. He started his journey with ATV racing in Auckland, New Zealand. He soon shifted to karts and then Formula First Class. However, his breakthrough came when he signed a contract to race in V8 Supercars. In 2007, at the tender age of 17, his journey kicked off with Stone Brothers Racing.

After having initial struggles, Gisbergen found his way to the championship in 2016. He won eight races to name his first Supercar title, with one race to spare. He then continued to fight hard by finishing a close second in 2018 and 2019.

However, his best was yet to come, as he won two more titles. He won his second title in 2021 by winning 14 out of 30 races. In the very next season, Gisbergen rattled his opponents by winning 20 races. His unstoppable performance earned him his third title.

After back-to-back titles, Gisbergen moved to America for the NASCAR Xfinity Series in the 2024 season. In his 33 race starts, the Kiwi driver won three and finished seven times in the top 5. As he dominated his debut season, Trackhouse Racing decided to graduate him to the premier series and handed him his maiden contract. So, what do you think will Gisbergen be able to dominate the cup series or not?