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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tShane van Gisbergen finished 24th at Phoenix.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tShane van Gisbergen finished 24th at Phoenix.<\/p>\n
The Trackhouse Racing driver claimed the second-most wins of any driver this year, taking out five of the six road course races. Only Denny Hamlin had more on six.<\/p>\n
Although van Gisbergen had a season of the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2024, he has regularly made a point of the two stock cars being chalk and cheese.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a lot of fun,\u201d said van Gisbergen of his season at the end-of-season awards banquet.<\/p>\n
\u201cI enjoyed my racing a lot this year and building up with the team. The second half of the year, we improved a lot. It made it overall, pretty good.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like we\u2019ll have some good momentum into next year. Our team isn\u2019t changing much on the #88 car, so it\u2019s pretty cool.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d love to start again because I feel like I\u2019ve learned so much, but I also get that chance in 15 weeks.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like I started at a pretty low level. I was just a deer in the headlights to start the year. I\u2019m a lot better now.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t have an expectation (for 2026), but we\u2019ve just got to keep building.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like we have a much, much better base to start from. As I said, there is a lot of team continuity, so that will really help.\u201d<\/p>\n
Van Gisbergen\u2019s breakthrough win didn\u2019t come until the 16th race of the season in Mexico City.<\/p>\n
That weekend, he said, was a turning point.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a season of two halves it felt like. The first half was a lot of learning, but since Mexico when we won our first race, it\u2019s all clicked,\u201d van Gisbergen explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou get that confidence and momentum. It\u2019s built from Mexico and the second half of the season has made it pretty easy to forget about the first half.\u201d<\/p>\n
Van Gisbergen\u2019s road course prowess is known, making him the bona fide favourite every time the series has to turn right.<\/p>\n
Eventually, he wants to be able to turn up to ovals knowing he can be just as competitive.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had no pressure for those weekends,\u201d he said of the road courses.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just know we\u2019re going to be good there, and that\u2019s a really cool feeling to have.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou just go into the weekend and do you normal prep and just arrive with confidence.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt makes a big difference. Hopefully, one day I feel like that on an oval.<\/p>\n
\u201cGoing to places for the second or third time, things start to click and I can just go into a race weekend knowing what to expect.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were some tough tracks late in the year, like Gateway and even Bristol still.<\/p>\n
\u201cGoing to those places, it\u2019s still pretty nerve racking not knowing how it\u2019s going to be.\u201d<\/p>\n
Van Gisbergen is expected to return to New Zealand for the summer. His racing plans for the off-season are currently up in the air with no firm sprint car commitments yet.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n