NASCAR CUP SERIES: GO BOWLING AT THE GLEN

August 10, 2025

Shane van Gisbergen

Press Conference

An Interview with:

THE MODERATOR: We'll wrap up our post-race media availabilities with our race winner, Shane van Gisbergen.

Q. Shane, Stephen was just in here mentioning how no Cup race is easy to win. You obviously make it look pretty easy. From your standpoint, how hard is it for you?

SHANE VAN GISBERGEN: Yeah, it's pretty difficult. The first stint, Ryan was driving really well and his car looked really good, a little bit better than ours at that stage, and then at the end of Stage 2 when all the pitting was happening and all the strategies went their separate ways, I really didn't know how it was going to be. I just had an amazing restart to Stage 3, managed to pass people before the tires got hot and got a gap on all the people that were on the same strategy as me.

Definitely not easy. The last stint was okay, but that stint, that's where I was pushing flat out, and pretty cool to do that, and then you get that tire delta as well, and I could sort of cruise and know that I had decent tires if the late yellow came.

Q. In the recent Cup Series races at road courses, do you feel like the other drivers have improved and gotten closer to you in terms of road racing ability?

SHANE VAN GISBERGEN: I just think they're good anyway. I think the difference has been that I'm with the team full time this year and I've been able to develop a setup and fine tune it to the way I want. Last year I kind of just jumped in and got the Trackhouse car delivered to Kaulig and then the Kaulig guys would run it, whereas this year I'm all involved in the setup, trying to learn every week, and I really feel like as a team we've been able to tailor the car to my needs.

I think we have gotten better rather than anything else. I think we turn up to the track, we know what our tools are, our tuning tools. I know what I want the car to feel like.

Like this Monday was a really intense meeting trying to improve on what we had last year, and got here yesterday and the car felt night and day different. I think it's just us as a team getting better.

Q. First and foremost, what are the emotions of this one particularly, especially after the frustration of last year, and how that race ended a year ago?

SHANE VAN GISBERGEN: Yeah, it certainly makes up for it. I went to bed pretty angry yesterday, to junk a car and have another DNF, yeah, I was pretty angry/sad last night. Nice to just clear the head this morning, come here and have a great day. Executed from the start, no mistakes, and yeah, it means everything. This is why we work so hard, and yeah, to get another win, it's pretty darned cool.

Q. Four Cup wins this year, most ever by a rookie. What has this run meant to you personally against a lot of guys that you respect? You understood the challenge that it was coming in here; to find the success that you have had on a pretty regular basis now, what has that meant to you personally?

SHANE VAN GISBERGEN: Yeah, as I said, it means everything. The prep that we go through, not just for these road courses, but we do it every week. As I've said a lot of times over the last few weeks, I feel like we've gotten a lot better, especially on the ovals, and it's been cool working with a great bunch of people, and just to share four wins with everyone and seeing how much it meant to everyone when you're high fiving during the burnout, you can see how into it they are. It's so cool.

Q. I saw Bubba and Daniel also came to Victory Lane to congratulate you as well. While you're still kicking their butts on the racetrack, they also still respect you enough to come give you those kudos. What is that like managing that balance as a competitor?

SHANE VAN GISBERGEN: Yeah, well, that's how you want it to be with everyone. You want it to be respectful but hard racing.

It pays back. Like in the third stint, a couple of people let me go, and they're guys I'd say I'm sort of friendly with. I would do the same for them, and I do do it on the ovals when they come at me with a big speed difference. It's just respect you build up with people and friendships, and yeah, pretty much everyone in the garage is nice guys and I enjoy racing all of them.

Q. Last year you scored a top-10 finish at the Roval. This year obviously going forward to become the most -- driver in the Cup Series to win five consecutive road courses. How do you feel about the Roval, and do you feel like you have to do more prep work for that race knowing what's at stake being in the round that can propel you to the Round of 8?

SHANE VAN GISBERGEN: Yeah, I did that race last year in the Kaulig car, and it was a fast car but we didn't quite get it right in the race. Yeah, it's a funky odd track but pretty cool challenge. I think it races well.

Yeah, that's in the second round, I believe, so looking forward to that.

Yeah, I think we've got plenty of races before then, but that'll be obviously a good one for us if we make it to the second round.

Q. I wanted to revisit the big deal of winning four races as a rookie. What does that mean to you because not only is that eclipsing marks by some legends and Hall-of-Famers in the sport, it doesn't matter what kind of course you're winning on, road courses or whatever, but that's really such a huge accomplishment and you've had so many in your career in other series, too, but how does this stand out to you?

SHANE VAN GISBERGEN: Yeah, it means everything. That's why I moved here, and that's why I guess Justin believed in me and he knew I could do this.

Yeah, I've changed my life to come and do this, and to come and make true of what everyone believed in me and to execute myself and get everything right, it's why I go racing.

As I said, sharing it with those people and seeing how much it means to the guys who work every week so hard on the car and their pit stops, yeah, it's so cool. It means the world to everyone.

Next week we'll see the guys at the shop who did all the prep work, too, and I love the team environment, and it was a great day for the team. We had all three in the top 10 for the first time for Trackhouse. It's huge.

Q. Do you ever sit there and think, damn, this is good?

SHANE VAN GISBERGEN: Yeah, it normally hits me on the plane ride home or 4:00 a.m. after a few beers. Yeah, I try to reflect on it, but I also try and get to the next week pretty quick, as well. I'll try not to tweet at 4:00 a.m. this morning.

But I do nowadays, maybe I'm too old, or getting old, but I try and reflect and take in the moment a bit more. Today was really special. Never had my dog in Victory Lane before and my dad as well. He hasn't been able to travel all year being sick. To have him here for the next three weeks and have a win with it, it's just really cool to have that moment.

Q. I wonder if you could elaborate a little bit on your dad and when he came here. Had he seen you race in the United States before?

SHANE VAN GISBERGEN: Yes, he came to Chicago and then he came two or three times last year. But yeah, it's been pretty difficult. He lost his wife, my mother, and then his sister and then his mom a month or so ago. It's been a really rough run for Dad. It's hard to support him when I'm on the other side of the world. That's probably why I'm the most homesick. Then my sister has moved away as well, so he's kind of by himself all of a sudden. I try and talk to him every day, and yeah, to have him here, and like he was almost in tears, too. It's really special to share that, because we're a long way from home.

Q. Are you a numbers guy that pays attention to all these records that you're breaking and things that you're doing, or is it kind of just, okay, great, go on to the next?

SHANE VAN GISBERGEN: Yeah, not really. I think that's kind of an American thing. They love stats here and adding things up. I'm not really. But when I retire I guess I will be. But at the moment, no, I just do it.

Q. Stephen was saying that once you guys got through COTA and the All-Star Race he pointed to as one of those pivotal moments that you were able to figure it out as a team and they were able to give you what you were looking for in the car on road courses but also on ovals, is that kind of a time period that you would point to as well to maybe turn the corner for you guys as a team this year?

SHANE VAN GISBERGEN: Yeah, I think probably Charlotte, we had a little test at Charlotte before Wilkesboro and found some things and what I needed from the car, and it was like a lightbulb moment. It was only the race before the main one in Wilkesboro, but to lead the race and kind of feel what I needed and get that flow in the car, it's a lot about rhythm and car placement, and yeah, when you feel it on an oval and get it once, it's like, okay, it kind of clicks. That's been happening more and more.

Stephen is really good and Josh Williams also, my spotter, letting me know what people are doing and what I need to do, and the weekly meetings we have, it's been great. I think we're making big steps. That's for sure.

Q. You mentioned you feel like you guys are making big steps. The Playoffs are only a couple of weeks away at this point. As you look ahead to that, where is your focus? Is it the tracks within that first round? I know you've talked about how much you look forward to getting back to Darlington. Is that the priority for this 88 team as we get to this part of the season?

SHANE VAN GISBERGEN: Yeah, and probably the one we'd most be worried about is Bristol. I ran terrible there. Bristol was so far from anything I've ever done, and that's a really tough place.

That's probably the biggest worry. But Darlington I feel fine. I think you just have to have -- especially now we have a lot of points, too, I think you've just got to have three solid weeks and you might get through. We just have to play the averages, make no mistakes, and make sure we're in a good spot every week, and who knows how far we'll get.

Q. I talked with Connor earlier today and he referenced that you had talked to him about you had a similar injury. I understand not all injuries are the same, but can you give a sense of what it is like to compete with a collarbone injury since you have gone through that to some degree?

SHANE VAN GISBERGEN: Yeah, so I broke my collarbone in 2021, left side, which is -- mine was a bit out by the AC. I did a bit more damage to my shoulder and also I had a fake ligament put in, but I had a weekend off and then I raced the next week, so pretty much what he's going to go through.

But once the plate is in there, it's stronger than the bone was. Yeah, I'd get a plate put in and then take it out at the end of the year. But it's obviously going to be in pain. My biggest problem was the tightening of the belts. I could really feel the plate through the skin and it was a horrible feeling. But yeah, I raced the next week and did pretty well.

Yeah, for sure with some good doctors and some good drugs, he'll get through the race fine.

Q. Seeing how you got out of the car, I think you're usually not too demonstrative but you climbed out of the car almost as if you were climbing out in Victory Lane. Was that as much because of yesterday --

SHANE VAN GISBERGEN: I didn't think of that. Obviously he's in our thoughts. I didn't want to do that. I always have bad dreams of slipping over and doing at that in front of everyone. But I just got out like I normally did, but I definitely didn't get on the roof in Victory Lane.

Q. As the regular season is winding down, how much of a confidence booster is a win like this for you and your team knowing that the Round of 16 is around the corner and playoff points are so key?

SHANE VAN GISBERGEN: It's huge. Like you can feel it in the workshop the week after or the weeks after, right from Ross's win at the 600. You just feel like a huge uplift at the shop, how motivated everyone is. Everyone is walking out, chest out, all happy.

Winning is why we do it. It's an amazing feeling, and it's good to just keep that momentum going for the team. As I said, three cars in the top 10, it's great for our team, and yeah, just need to keep the positivity there, keep working hard, and we'll just keep building.

Q. I'm assuming your dad is going to be around for Richmond and Daytona?

SHANE VAN GISBERGEN: That's right, yeah.

Q. You've shown a lot of speed and finesse on the superspeedways. What would that mean to you if you could close out the regular season with a win knowing it would be your first oval win and obviously catapult you into the Playoffs?

SHANE VAN GISBERGEN: Yeah, it's obviously something to dream about winning on an oval, and superspeedways I've had some pretty good moments there. Last year I think Talladega Kaulig was a smaller team, Dad was on the front row of the pit box helping with the strategy or talking with Travis Mack on the strategy. He loves it.

I'd love to have a good result with him the next couple weeks. He's driving the bus for me with his friend Jason to those races. I'll probably drive to Daytona with them, and it'll be a good time like we used to do.

Q. Can you talk about your craft for superspeedway, how you've been able to master it in a short amount of time?

SHANE VAN GISBERGEN: Yeah, I found like the Atlanta racing, you need a bit more driving skill, whereas Talladega it's just that bravery or Daytona that bravery and putting your car in the right place and knowing the proximity of your car. That's where -- like if I watch someone like Ryan Blaney or even Ricky Stenhouse is amazing. He normally qualifies where we do, and just how he finds himself in all those holes to get him up near the front, it's amazing how they can see where the momentum is and then all of a sudden the race slows down and you're driving around a 30 percent throttle but he's got all that track position and you wonder how he got there.

Yeah, my confidence in being aggressive and -- not aggressive but confident in my moves and car placement, I feel like I've come a long way. Yeah, who knows how we'll go in a couple of weeks, but I do and I don't enjoy those superspeedway races. I love the technicality of them, but we're also like lambs to slaughter at times just getting ready for the field to grenade. It's fun but it's also not.