Shane van Gisbergen at Martinsville Speedway.
Stock car racing’s half-mile paperclip is one of the toughest on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule.
It’s unique in that it has just 12 degrees of banking and a mix of concrete on the corners and asphalt on the straights.
A flying lap takes 20 seconds, give or take, and requires a unique technique and car setup.
“It’s an odd track,” van Gisbergen said, speaking on the Motor Racing Network.
“I thought it would race like a road course with two hairpins, but it really doesn’t.
“The way the cars are set up just to turn left, a general road course technique of a hairpin makes no sense at all.
“The way you have to drive it is very different to a road course.”
From three Cup Series starts at Martinsville, van Gisbergen has a career-best finish of 12th on debut in 2024 with Kaulig Racing in the #16 Chevrolet Camaro.
He battled handling issues upon his return with Trackhouse Racing at the start of 2025, but lost a wheel mid-race on his #88 car that meant he finished six laps down in 34th.
However, his most recent Martinsville race bore better results – starting 22nd and finishing 14th.
“I feel like it is one of my better tracks, but I’m still learning that technique and how to drive a corner like that with the setups,” van Gisbergen explained.
“It’s a fun little race track. It’s really cool when your car is working for you well and you can move around a bit.”
Shane van Gisbergen at Martinsville Speedway.
Martinsville is noteworthy for being quite chaotic at times, something van Gisbergen isn’t keen to get involved with.
“I don’t enjoy it when it gets crazy like the green-white-chequereds and everyone drives like idiots,” van Gisbergen laughed.
“When it’s general racing, I find it’s really fun. You can pass and set people up or bump them if you need to. When it goes crazy it’s a bit overboard. I like the track.”
“I try not to get involved in that stuff,” he added.
“I try not to be too rough or let people rough me up as well. I try not to. It’s just so different to my background. I’m not used to being allowed to do that stuff still. It’s still a pretty big adjustment.
“Some of the stuff you see at Martinsville over the years, you’d be banned for a long time if you did that at home (in Supercars).”
The Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway takes place on Monday, March 30 at 6:30am AEDT with coverage live and exclusively on Fox Sports and Kayo Sports.
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