Shane van Gisbergen already NASCAR's road course GOAT?

When Shane van Gisbergen first came to North America to give NASCAR racing a shot at the Chicago Street Race in 2023, you would be forgiven for not knowing who he was. After all, he was just a New Zealander who had never raced in the Xfinity Series or Truck Series, let alone the Cup Series, and was just some random international driver who wanted to try his hand.

However, this was quite different. The Kiwi had notched 80 wins, 174 podium finishes, and 48 pole positions to go along with three championships in the Australian V8 Supercar Championship prior to even trying NASCAR. Those just so happen to be some of the greatest numbers you'll ever see in that series.

That same driver then went on to shock the world by taking a stunning, historic victory in that Chicago race, becoming the first driver to win a Cup Series race on debut since Johnny Rutherford in 1963.

Despite that, most thought that this was still a one-off, and they wouldn't see him again. However, he dabbled in a handful of other Cup races in 2023 and 2024, alongside full-time Xfinity Series duties last year, before going full-time for his Cup Series rookie campaign in 2025, a season in which he has two wins already.

Van Gisbergen's latest win in the 2025 Chicago Street Race put his name alongside some of NASCAR's all-time greats.

SVG has struggled on the oval side of things to begin his career, notching just three top 20 finishes in 16 points-paying races on those particular tracks so far this season, with just one top 15 result and seven others outside the top 30.

However, his road and street course numbers have been immensely impressive, and quite frankly, staggering. In three races this year, van Gisbergen has won two, while also leading laps at Circuit of the Americas en route to finishing sixth.

While he initially struggled to adapt to the overall style of racing in NASCAR, he has seemingly navigated his way through it and come out better.

After taking the win in Mexico City by a monstrous 16.5 seconds, SVG dominated the entire weekend in Chicago a few weeks later, taking pole position and the victory in both the Xfinity Series and Cup Series to sweep the weekend. That was just the second time in NASCAR history a driver has done that in both races at the same track on the same weekend.

However, that wasn't the only interesting nugget that came out of his third career win. In fact, it was just one of many.

Being alongside Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart, who have a combined 132 wins and 10 championships, is a massive achievement, regardless of what it is. However, neither "Seven-Time" nor "Smoke" won each of their first three races in that short of a span all on road courses. SVG's level on these tracks really is something perhaps never seen before.

The craziest part is that, despite SVG being 27th in the regular season standings, he could tie Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell for the season lead in wins with three, should he win at Sonoma Raceway, another road course, this weekend.

Despite van Gisbergen's early, unprecedented success, many still aren't sold.

Many point to Stewart and Jeff Gordon as NASCAR's greatest road course racers ever, and Chase Elliott as the best of this modern generation. Part of the reason they're looked at as such is not only due to their great numbers on road courses, but also their proven abilities to win at every type of track en route to championship glory.

There have also been so many "road course ringers" who only showed up for these events, some of whom have done quite well, including A.J. Allmendinger, or Jacques Villeneuve and Ron Fellows in the Xfinity Series. While SVG now races full-time, it's still easy for some to still label him as such because he objectively remains uncompetitive on ovals.

Additionally, there's the argument that SVG is only doing as well as he is because NASCAR's Next Gen car is much more similar to the V8 Supercars that he's used to, compared to a traditional stock car of the past, whether it be the underbody aerodynamics, the larger 18-inch wheels, the sequential gearbox, or many other things.

Considering the fact that two of his three career wins have come in Chicago, a street course also similar to his racing background compared to the rest of the Cup Series drivers, it's definitely a factor.

And then, there's the anti-playoff crowd.

With any unexpected or surprise winner these days, there are plenty of people complaining that that particular driver is taking up someone else's playoff spot with the "win and in" format, rather than celebrating it.

However, that crowd does also have a point. With the "tough" first three races of the playoffs, comprising of three ovals in Darlington Raceway, World Wide Technology Raceway, and Bristol Motor Speedway, van Gisbergen is likely to be one of the four drivers eliminated in the opening round.

But should he make his way into the next round, which is certainly possible with all the playoff points he's beginning to rack up, the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval awaits his presence. It's entirely possible he wins that race, and makes a shock round of 8 appearance.

Despite how you may or may not feel about van Gisbergen's road course success, you can't deny that what you're seeing isn't special, or at the very least, uncommon.

It's very, very rare that anyone from outside of the NASCAR space shows up and does anything of crazy significance, road course or not. For context, in just 33 races, van Gisbergen has already won once more than Juan Pablo Montoya, an ex-Formula 1 winner, two-time Indy 500 champion, and road course expert in his own right, did in his entire seven-year NASCAR career.

With that, it's important to make sure you really take a close look at what you're watching with van Gisbergen, and appreciate it for what it is.

It's a great story of an older driver moving literally across the world to try his hand at a completely different game, and using his tools from elsewhere to create success in his new world. He's brought in a lot of new fans from across the world, and exposed the power that a rare skillset can have in modern NASCAR.

It's also something we, as NASCAR fans, may never see again.