“I guess it is another learning year again,” Shane van Gisbergen confessed two weeks ago. The New Zealand speedster has made waves in NASCAR so far. After his shock debut win at the 2023 Chicago Street Race, SVG has established himself as a road course ace in the Xfinity Series. Yet the caveat remains – as he is starting his full-time Cup Series ride, SVG may need to learn new things.

His first test is upcoming at NASCAR’s grand return to the Madhouse. The Bowman Gray Stadium is a 0.25-mile short track in Winston-Salem, North Carolina—precisely the type of racetrack that SVG is admittedly jittery at. Additionally, the practice session left him wondering about another unique feature of this track.

Shane van Gisbergen is cautious

Bowman Gray hosted NASCAR’s Cup races for a brief 13-year interval between 1958 and 1971. Following that, the short track hosted regional races in the Modified Series and other branches of the dirt racing world. It was then that fans were introduced to the fender-banging, rabble-rousing side of the Madhouse. Ranging from sudden demolition derbies to fans throwing gut punches to race winners, Bowman Gray has a lot of stories to taint its reputation with. Ahead of NASCAR’s Cook Out Clash, most Cup drivers are apprehensive about the track because of these things. But Shane van Gisbergen figured out yet another difficulty of this track.

NASCAR held its practice sessions for the Clash race at Bowman Gray recently. There were three heat race sessions which were 25 laps long. Following his participation in this warm-up session, Shane van Gisbergen said he enjoyed it. “Right from the start of the practice, I was having fun.” Yet SVG had a few words to add about a peculiar aspect which seemed too odd at first listen: “It’s odd like how out of Turn 2 the wall comes out, and then enter Turn 2 the back straight of the wall – comes out as well, that’s really odd.” Then he corrected himself, “Turn 3 and 4, sorry. So yeah, getting used to the shape of it.” Then he dropped his honest confession: “I’ve never driven a shaped track like this before. But it was pretty fun.” Nevertheless, SVG qualified in 10th after finishing 3rd in the 2nd Heat Race.

Well, the apprehensions that Shane van Gisbergen is harboring are justified. The Bowman Gray Stadium racetrack is a short track – precisely the venue where SVG needs massive improvement. During his 2024 schedule, the Kiwi speedster recorded zero top-tens at any short track. That included a 34th-place finish at Iowa, one of his worst runs of the season. This came as no surprise – NASCAR drivers hone short-track racing as a specialized skill through their teenage years racing at regional tracks. SVG did not have access to this learning as he grew up racing karts and motorbikes.

However, Shane van Gisbergen is pumped up for a show nevertheless. That is being made possible with the guidance of snazzy sponsors.

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SVG is rolling up his sleeves

How better to describe the three-time Supercars champion who whipped up a storm in 2023? Shane van Gisbergen is definitely rolling up his sleeves, if not cracking his knuckles – for a wild showdown. Across his 2024 Xfinity Series schedule, he picked up three road-course race victories. He clinched those trophies at Portland, Sonoma, and Chicago. SVG is leaving a trailblazing journey on his climb to the top. He has faced difficulties on short tracks and ovals – he clinched three top-tens in ovals last year. Additionally, transitioning from Xfinity to Cup is no mean feat, given the vastly different make of the race cars. Yet SVG is facing the challenges with his chin up.

WeatherTech and Red Bull will support his No. 88 Chevy Cup racing endeavors this year. With their support, Shane van Gisbergen is shucking out all the nervousness with a unique approach. “I don’t go racing with goals. For a while, I’ve been like that. Just doing my best every week and just have the same approach every week. I know I can do the job. … It’s just time. I know I can get there. It’s just how long it’s going to take on the oval side.” He is bringing the same energy to Bowman Gray as well. “I’m looking forward to seeing what the Bowman Gray excitement is all about and finally getting on track with my #88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet.”

Clearly, Shane van Gisbergen is coming prepared. As the Madhouse Clash looms closer on the horizon, let us see what magic our favorite Kiwi can conjure.