NASCAR Indianapolis: Shane van Gisbergen brands intermediate oval tracks as his biggest weakness

HOT on the heels of a stellar weekend on the North Wilkesboro short track, Shane van Gisbergen is knuckling down to now overcome one last weakness.

That is on intermediate circuits, which NASCAR defines as any oval greater than one mile in length, bar the mighty superspeedways of Daytona and Talladega.

Of the 26 tracks on the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series championship calendar, 15 are listed as intermediates: Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicagoland, Darlington, Gateway, Homestead-Miami, Indianapolis, Kansas, Las Vegas, Michigan, Nashville, New Hampshire, Phoenix, Pocono and Texas.

It’s worth noting that Atlanta, post-reconfiguration, is arguably now more a ‘drafting’ circuit like Daytona and Talladega.

Either way, it’s a big chunk of the schedule, including this weekend’s venture to the Brickyard (i.e. Indy).

“I’m still weak on intermediates, I think,” van Gisbergen confessed.

“Those are probably my lowest ranked tracks.

“I’m definitely getting better at the drafting tracks.

“But on the intermediates, I’m weak and we are weak as a team. We really need to improve as a team on those type of tracks.”

Van Gisbergen is Trackhouse Racing’s top driver in the playoffs race, holding 14th in the standings (54 points above the cut line) compared to 21st for Ross Chastain and 34th for Connor Zilisch.

Specific to Indianapolis, SVG said: “It’s tough. You have to qualify well, which we did last year.

“It’s nearly impossible to pass there, so qualifying is a big focus.

“We had an issue last year that dropped us back during the race. So, we just need to get up front and stay there all day.

“Indy is such a cool track, so I’m looking forward to it. We have a 50-minute practice session on Friday and that will help a lot in preparation for Sunday’s race.”