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DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA – AUGUST 30: Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 Sport Clips Haircuts Toyota, speaks to the media after winning the pole award during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on August 30, 2025 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Shane van Gisbergen<\/a> delivered another strong NASCAR Cup Series performance at Nashville Superspeedway, but Denny Hamlin<\/a> believes the Trackhouse Racing driver may be testing the patience of some competitors. The New Zealand driver finished fifth in the Cracker Barrel 400, earning his best result on an oval track and continuing his impressive adaptation to NASCAR racing.<\/p>\n However, Hamlin used his Actions Detrimental podcast<\/a> to highlight concerns about van Gisbergen\u2019s aggressive approach in traffic. The veteran driver pointed to several moments during the final laps at Nashville where van Gisbergen made contact while battling for position.<\/p>\n Although Hamlin did not accuse him of dirty driving, he warned that repeated incidents could lead to retaliation from other drivers. As Shane van Gisbergen continues to improve on NASCAR ovals, his driving style is drawing increasing attention throughout the garage.<\/p>\n Denny Hamlin Warns Shane van Gisbergen About NASCAR Oval Racing<\/p>\n Denny Hamlin praised Shane van Gisbergen for another impressive run but said the former Supercars champion is putting rivals in difficult situations with aggressive corner entries.<\/p>\n \u201cSVG had another good race, I tell you, he\u2019s putting himself in some spots, though. He\u2019s also sticking it in there like late on corner entries, where he\u2019s putting his competition in some not great spots.\u201d<\/p>\n The warning came after a tense final-lap battle at Nashville. Shane van Gisbergen raced side-by-side with Chase Elliott as the field charged toward the finish. The No. 97 Chevrolet made contact with Elliott several times while fighting for position. The battle became even more chaotic when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Tyler Reddick joined the fight.<\/p>\n Hamlin said drivers may no longer tolerate that style of racing.<\/p>\n \u201cI saw him and Chase [Elliott] on the last lap, I think he ran into him two or three times. I would just give warning that like eventually, they\u2019re not going to let you just keep doing that without retaliating on you. Maybe they won\u2019t say it on the radio, but just be careful of that SVG.\u201d<\/p>\n Shane van Gisbergen Explains Nashville Contact<\/p>\n Despite the controversy, NASCAR Cup Series driver Shane van Gisbergen viewed the incident as hard racing rather than intentional contact. Speaking after the race, he explained that both drivers were pushing for every position on the final lap.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah I got a little bit loose when he put it on my door and at the bottom of (Turns) 1 and 2, I kind of slid and then we both got tight. Neither one of us wanted to lift, I guess. Last lap, and Ricky got us. And then coming to the flag battling, and, I tried to stay to the bottom. I don\u2019t know what happened. I was trying to look and see how close it was.\u201d<\/p>\n The result marked another milestone for Shane van Gisbergen. He started 10th, led a career-best 12 laps on an oval, and improved on his previous best oval finish of sixth at Atlanta earlier this season.<\/p>\n Shane van Gisbergen Continues NASCAR Oval Progress<\/p>\n The strong finish keeps Shane van Gisbergen 12th in the NASCAR Cup Series standings and safely above the playoff cutline. While he remains one of the strongest road-course drivers in the field, recent results show major progress on oval tracks.<\/p>\n Nashville highlighted how quickly the NASCAR Cup Series driver is learning the demands of NASCAR oval racing. At the same time, Hamlin\u2019s comments show that success alone is not enough. Drivers must also earn trust and respect from competitors during close battles.<\/p>\n As the NASCAR schedule continues with more oval races before returning to road courses at San Diego and Sonoma, Shane van Gisbergen will remain under close watch. His speed is no longer in question. The challenge now is proving he can maintain that pace while avoiding the conflicts that Hamlin warned could follow.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tDogli Wilberforce<\/a> is a writer covering NASCAR, Formula 1, and the IndyCar Series for Heavy Sports. He has also written for Sportsnaut, FanSided, Total Apex Sports, and Last Word on Sports. Wilberforce focuses on the NASCAR Cup Series, breaking down news, driver stories, and key moments with a clear, fast, and engaging style. His work connects headlines to context, helping readers understand what matters most in the sport. More about Dogli Wilberforce<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA – AUGUST 30: Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 Sport Clips Haircuts Toyota, speaks…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":116493,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[49,48,634,82],"class_list":["post-714822","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nascar","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/714822","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=714822"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/714822\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=714822"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=714822"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=714822"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}