{"id":134355,"date":"2025-09-05T09:18:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-05T09:18:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/134355\/"},"modified":"2025-09-05T09:18:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T09:18:09","slug":"hes-not-superman-nascar-veteran-delivers-brutal-reality-check-to-shane-van-gisbergens-road-course-dominance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/134355\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018He\u2019s Not Superman\u2019 \u2014 NASCAR Veteran Delivers Brutal Reality Check to Shane van Gisbergen\u2019s Road Course Dominance"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1757063889_209_image\" alt=\"https:\/\/img.particlenews.com\/image.php?url=0EFQIG_14Qs19FP00\" width=\"1117\" height=\"745\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Shane van Gisbergen has dominated NASCAR\u2019s road courses like no one else since stepping onto the tracks in 2023. Four Cup Series wins in 2025, all on road courses, have earned him a reputation as a \u201cone-trick pony.\u201d But what happens when the rest of the field figures out his secrets?<\/p>\n<p>Why Is Michael McDowell Warning Shane Van Gisbergen About His Future?<\/p>\n<p>Since his debut race and win at Chicago a couple of years ago, the three-time Supercars champion\u00a0has been the talk of NASCAR. The New Zealander\u2019s road course dominance has made him the prime contender to win such races, leaving drivers like Michael McDowell overlooked.<\/p>\n<p>McDowell remains a name worth mentioning when heading to road races, but his dominance has faded. Having experienced it firsthand, the 40-year-old\u00a0believes it won\u2019t be long before the rest of the field catches up to van Gisbergen.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/2025\/09\/03\/coronado-nascar-race-is-9-months-away-but-already-has-a-favorite\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow noreferrer\">Speaking to the San Diego Union-Tribune<\/a>, McDowell initially praised van Gisbergen\u2019s driving skills at road courses. He said, \u201cHe\u2019s doing everything just a little bit better because of his background. He brakes a little later and different going into a turn. His line through turns is a little different. He accelerates a little earlier exiting turns. It\u2019s a matter of feet. But it\u2019s turn after turn, lap after lap.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>However, McDowell then added that while the New Zealander is doing everything right, it won\u2019t be long before others learn these techniques themselves.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s pushing all of us to be better. He\u2019s pushing everyone to make some adjustments. And it will happen. It\u2019s just a matter of time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Despite van Gisbergen winning four of the five road course races he\u2019s competed in during the 2025 season, McDowell remains firm in his stance: \u201cHe\u2019s not superman.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>How Has Michael McDowell Backed Up His Bold Claims?<\/p>\n<p>While many might dismiss McDowell\u2019s words, the road course veteran has delivered performances that support his predictions. In Mexico, the 40-year-old nearly took the lead from van Gisbergen, but a timely caution helped the No. 88 car maintain its advantage.<\/p>\n<p>The competition intensified at Chicago, where McDowell held the lead for several laps over the New Zealander. However, car troubles forced an early exit for him, allowing the No. 88 car to claim another victory.<\/p>\n<p>Since winning remains his primary focus, Van Gisbergen may embrace the \u201cone-trick pony\u201d label. However, as McDowell\u2019s warning suggests, that one trick might not stay exclusive much longer. The question isn\u2019t whether van Gisbergen can keep winning on road courses, but whether he can stay ahead once everyone else catches up to his methods.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Shane van Gisbergen has dominated NASCAR\u2019s road courses like no one else since stepping onto the tracks in&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":134356,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"tags":[84522,4,983,425,15134,57607,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-134355","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nascar","8":"tag-hes-not-superman-nascar-veteran-delivers-brutal-reality-check-to-shane-van-gisbergens-road-course-dominance","9":"tag-breaking-news","10":"tag-local-news","11":"tag-nascar","12":"tag-newsbreak","13":"tag-pfsn","14":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134355","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134355"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134355\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/134356"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}