Denny Hamlin reveals major doubts about NASCAR star's future

When it comes to NASCAR road courses in 2025, this is Shane van Gisbergen’s world. The rest of us are just living in it.

A Cup Series championship season though is not just fought on roads, there are another 30 weekends to determine who takes home the biggest prize in the sport.

Kiwi star van Gisbergen has been utterly dominant on road courses this year, winning his fourth straight at Watkins Glen last weekend - this time by more than 11 seconds.

The 36-year-old was once again peerless and nobody could get close to him. While he was of course locked into a playoff berth long ago, his credentials to one day become a major threat on ovals are still very much in question. One man who doubts if he can ever take it to the next level is Cup Series great Denny Hamlin.

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Can SvG ever be elite on ovals?

Speaking on his Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin said: “There’s 30 other races that make up NASCAR. In the long term, I mean, he’s certainly getting better at the ovals, and hopefully will put himself in the contender level on the ovals soon.

"But still, I think it’s going to be really, really tough to overcome the sport’s elite on ovals. I don’t think he’s going to be able to do that.”

So if SvG is still only mid when it comes to ovals, why is he so absolutely dominant on road courses? Hamlin explained the differences that allow him to dominate.

Road vs oval - the keys to victory

“When you start at the front of a road course, there’s not much chaos to mix up the field and all those things," Hamlin continued.

"On an oval, if William Byron has the fastest car and he starts on the pole, he’s got to go through eight pit stops, something like that, on any given day. If he gets put back to 15th, do we ever see him again? That’s what we’re fighting for the other 30 weeks of the year.

“‘Wait a minute, William Byron, he was the best driver, best car on that day. Why is it when we put him in traffic, he couldn’t go anywhere?’ So, that’s where the parity really hurts the stars on the ovals.

“On the road courses, it’s a little more straightforward. As long as there’s not an ill-timed caution. There’s no doubt the guy can go through traffic. Zero doubt on my mind.

"Is he the best road course racer I’ve ever seen? Absolutely. I competed against the Tony Stewarts, the Jeff Gordons, all those guys. He’s better than all of them.”

SvG first, the rest nowhere

The gap between van Gisbergen and the field at Watkins Glen was yawning, again, and Hamlin believes it is going to be almost impossible for anybody to beat him on a road course anytime soon.

“The only thing you’re going to have to mix this up, to keep him from winning every single road course race is - it’s going to have to take something wacky," Hamlin concluded.

"Or else you can just go ahead and write the script for the next foreseeable future.”

READ MORE: NASCAR team facing multiple penalties after Watkins Glen incident

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