NASCAR Cup Series chief issues Shane van Gisbergen GOAT verdict

NASCAR Cup Series team owner Justin Marks has given his verdict over where his driver, Shane van Gisbergen, stands in the NASCAR Cup Series road course driver GOAT debate.

The Kiwi drives full-time in the No. 88 for Trackhouse Racing and proved his worth to the outfit once again on Sunday, winning the street race in Chicago.

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After starting on pole in the Grant Park 165, van Gisbergen stormed to victory, not letting the chaos that unfolded elsewhere on track impact his dominant win.

Following van Gisbergen's second victory of the season and the third overall in his Cup Series career, Marks had nothing but praise for the star, discussing what makes the playoff driver so special.

Speaking on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Marks said: "It's such a psychologically dangerous territory to be in when you're talking about the Cup Series and you're like, 'guarantees are sure things', because there are no sure things, there are no guarantees.

"But he is so reliably a performer on these road courses that even if the car isn't right for him or as good as it could be, he is so reliable knowing that he's going to get the most out of his opportunity, he's not going to make mistakes, he's going to be really smart and strategic about how he manages the races."

READ MORE: Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin among NASCAR stars hit with penalties in Chicago

Justin Marks praises SVG after Chicago Street Race win

Semi-retired racer Marks then continued to shower praise down on the former Supercars champion, who has now jumped five places in the regular season standings thanks to his Chicago Cup victory.

"You come to these tracks with a guy like Shane, that's the dream," he admitted.

"Any team owner will tell you that the goal is to have drivers in all of his cars where every week you go to the racetrack and you can just be very comfortable with your guys showing up and doing a great job and executing really, really well."

The Cup Series chief then concluded with a bold GOAT claim, saying: "We just all kind of turn into fans honestly when he's out there doing his thing, we all just sort of sit back in awe and just watch him because it's really unlike anything anybody in the sport I think has seen on these road courses in a while.

"I think we are just witnessing greatness and when Shane's time in NASCAR is over, I think he will stand alone on the top of the mountain as the greatest road course racer that's ever shown up in the series in those 75 years.

"It's an amazing thing to witness and we're just really stoked that he's doing it with Trackhouse."

READ MORE: Joey Logano calls for NASCAR to punish Cup Series rival

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