NASCAR MEDIA CONFERENCE

June 28, 2026

Shane van Gisbergen

Press Conference

An Interview with:

THE MODERATOR: We have our post-race media availability with your race winner Shane van Gisbergen, driver of the No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet. Questions.

Q. (Off microphone).

SHANE VAN GISBERGEN: 100%, yeah. It was a pretty amazing day really to improve it as much as they did. I thought we were a lost cause. Yeah, the guys did a great job making setup changes, and as soon as the race started, I still felt average, but I saw other people had similar issues or worse.

Then that gave me confidence. Yeah, Stephen made great calls all day. That group did an amazing job with the strategy and where I'd come out. Then even that last stop coming out in front and being able to manage my tires and manage that gap, it was really cool.

A lot of pressure at the end. Chase was really fast. I kind of thought I was good mid-stint when I was going easy and managing to gap him, and then the last ten laps I was really in a world of hurt. So, yeah, it got pretty tense at the end.

Q. (Off microphone).

SHANE VAN GISBERGEN: Not really. That's NASCAR. You kind of have to reset yourself every week and go again. I'll have to do the same next week.

Yeah, I was pretty pissed for a couple of days and then switched my attention to this race. Yeah, we did pretty well all weekend. Yeah, to get both races certainly makes up for it a little bit, but yeah, we missed a lot of points last week. So great to get some back this one.

Q. (Off microphone).

SHANE VAN GISBERGEN: I mean, now I just have to do my best every week and keep improving, don't do anything stupid. Just accumulate points. I can't get in stupid accidents like Pocono with people. Yeah, just 10th to 15th is good enough for us and better if we can. Yeah, try and get stage points. That's always been something difficult I've found on ovals.

Qualify well. Start up front. Hopefully we get better.

It's going to be consistent finishes every week, and having a points mentality will hopefully get us in there.

Q. (Off microphone).

SHANE VAN GISBERGEN: I mean, it depends. Like some weeks I find we can run 10th to 15th pretty easily, and other weeks it's a battle to run 30th. Yeah, as a team, we definitely need to be better and prepare as well as we can. Open practice will certainly help us next week. We can try some things.

Yeah, I just need to keep getting better and make no mistakes. It would be really cool to point our way in.

Q. (Off microphone).

SHANE VAN GISBERGEN: I mean, we just need to improve. I'm still the weak link as a driver, but I've got good teammates in the other cars, and they're struggling as well. So we all as a team need to improve.

It's just going to come through hard work and trying to emulate what the other Chevys are doing. They've really stepped up the last couple of months. We need to do the same.

Q. (Off microphone).

SHANE VAN GISBERGEN: Yeah, I still think we have an edge sometimes, but certainly today we didn't have the strongest car. Yeah, Chase was really good here last year, too. We had to battle him for the win.

Yeah, as I said, I felt good for a while, and then ten laps to go I started feeling my tires start to slip. Yeah, I think he made an error with four or five to go. I was, like, okay. Then the next lap I just saw the gap eating away. I start sh--ing myself. The 7 came out in front of me, and he was just wobbling all over the place and dropping wheels. I thought, oh, he's saving tires, but then he kept going off. I don't know what was happening in that kind of -- every time I'd see him go off, then I'd slip the next corner on his dirt. That was a pain in the ass. Yeah, it happens.

Q. (Off microphone).

SHANE VAN GISBERGEN: I think you just get better with time. It's like me on the ovals. The more you do it, the better you're going to get.

Yeah, this week aside, I feel like our car is getting better and better. Watkins Glen, my car was unreal this year. I think last week, too, we had an amazing car once the track rubbered in. Yeah, hopefully we just keep improving as well, and we try and stay at the level we're at.

Q. (Off microphone).

SHANE VAN GISBERGEN: I mean, yesterday I just learned that the tires were just so sensitive to heat, especially the left rear, but I could overheat the left front and try and balance the car out.

Yeah, today the tires are a little bit different to yesterday. They don't recover as well, but they still get some grip back, but not all the way like the O'Reilly car does.

Yeah, still worthwhile doing both races, knowing how to prepare the tires for the restarts and when to take off in the box and stuff like that. Certainly worth doing.

Q. (Off microphone).

SHANE VAN GISBERGEN: I don't think he's that sort of driver, but if there was a lap or two more and he was -- he would have been closer, I would have been in trouble. Then I would have had to start defending and probably deserved to get moved.

I'm really thankful it wasn't one or two laps longer, but he's a guy I have a lot of respect for, and it seems to come back the other way too. Every time I race him, he's awesome to race against. Yeah, I knew it would have been a good battle if he did get there.

Q. (Off microphone).

SHANE VAN GISBERGEN: Yeah, spent the last 40 laps praying there wasn't going to be one (smiling).

THE MODERATOR: Thanks, Shane. Congratulations.

SHANE VAN GISBERGEN: Thank you.