NASCAR star overcomes major penalty with landmark result

When it comes to road courses in the NASCAR Cup Series, Shane van Gisbergen has totally dominated of late.

The Trackhouse Racing star has four victories under his belt so far in 2025, all of which came away from NASCAR's traditional oval format.

On those ovals, the Kiwi undoubtedly has a lot to learn. However, as his rookie Cup Series season has progressed, he has been making considerable improvements.

That all culminated in his best-ever finish at an oval in Kansas City on Sunday, where van Gisbergen overcame an early tail-end penalty and stop-and-go punishment to achieve a top-10 finish.

NASCAR HEADLINES: Bubba Wallace rages as Denny Hamlin hits back at critics

Van Gisbergen lands oval top 10

Prior to Sunday's race, Van Gisbergen's best finish at an oval this season was 14th, which he achieved at Charlotte and Richmond.

“What an awesome day. It was good to get our first top 10 finish at Kansas” the Trackhouse Racing star explained, via Speedcafe.

“Crazy day. Going a lap down with the penalty at the start and then just worked our way forward.

"I got more confident. It’s still taking me time with these mile-and-a-halfs. It was awesome.”

READ MORE: NASCAR champion Joey Logano hit with FOUR penalties at Kansas

Show of Trackhouse depth

On top of his on-track penalties, the team also had to deal with Sunday's race without crew chief Stephen Doran, who was ejected from Kansas Speedway after unapproved adjustments were made to the No. 88 Chevrolet.

Chais Eliason, an engineer for the team, served as the interim crew chief and van Gisbergen believes it is a show of strength.

“We’ve obviously got really good depth at Trackhouse,” said van Gisbergen, reflecting

“Chais did a great job stepping up. We still prepped hard with Stephen last night and this morning on set-up. Unfortunately, he’s not here with us, but it’s cool. I’m stoked.

“I’m proud of us. We’re getting a lot better at this stuff.”

SVG eyeing another win

Van Gisbergen has the opportunity to follow up his first oval top 10 with another strong result this time as the Cup Series hits the road course at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Sunday's Cup Series race is set to kick off at 3pm ET, (USA Network) and before a wheel has been turned in North Carolina, the Kiwi is the heavy favorite.

If the 36-year-old was to win in North Carolina, his total tally for 2025 would rise to five - the joint-most of any driver in the Cup Series this season, with Denny Hamlin the only other star to achieve that feat so far.

READ MORE: NASCAR champion Kyle Busch tipped for INCREDIBLE team switch

Related