Following his second win of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, Shane van Gisbergen spoke about his chances of making The Chase. With eight races remaining until The Chase, the driver of the No. 97 sits 14th in the standings with a 36-point advantage over the cut line.
The New Zealand native has shown improvements on the ovals this season, with a prime example being his fifth-place effort at Nashville last month. However, three straight finishes of 30th or worse followed that top-five performance.
With no more road courses on the schedule, SVG will have to rely on what he has learned on the ovals if he wants to make The Chase.
SVG on making The Chase: ‘Got to do it without forcing it’
When speaking to SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, van Gisbergen said there is not a race that goes by that he is not looking at the points standings.
The eight-time Cup Series winner said they are often looking at their gap to the cutoff and analyzing the projected points they need.
Although they get deep into the engineering side of things, SVG said it rests on him to go out and execute on the ovals and not have miscues that have set the Trackhouse Racing driver back at times this season.
“I need to go there, do the best I can on ovals and stop making little mistakes. I’ve had some painful days. At Pocono, I think I put myself in a bad spot and cost us quite a few points. I just need to stop doing things like that,” van Gisbergen said.
SVG described running 15th-20th as a “good, average” day on an oval for his team that can pay off once it gets down to Chase time.
Yet, the 37-year-old added they need to be better and reach the point where they are consistently scoring stage points and running inside the top 10. One thing SVG knows is that in the next eight weeks, he cannot force the issue.
“We can do it when we get it right. For me, it’s not going to come through forcing it. We just need to prepare well every week and do the best we can and it’ll come naturally. I still am improving a lot and I know I have a lot to learn, but I’ve got to do it without forcing it,” van Gisbergen said.
While his improvements on the ovals cannot be ignored, it is the road courses that are SVG’s bread butter. After his victory at Sonoma last Sunday, SVG has now won seven of the last nine road course races in the Cup Series.
SVG is the only Trackhouse Racing driver currently in The Chase
Trackhouse Racing has been to victory lane twice this year with SVG claiming victories at Watkins Glen and Sonoma. The wins were much-needed for the organization as SVG stands as the only Trackhouse Racing driver currently in contention to make The Chase.
After 18 races, Ross Chastain finds himself mired in 22nd position in the standings. The driver of the No. 1 has struggled to show consistent speed as he has posted only one top five and four top 10s.
Meanwhile, rookie Connor Zilisch has had difficulty getting up to speed in the Cup Series. The driver of the No. 88 sits 34th in the points standings with his only top-10 result coming at Sonoma last Sunday.
If SVG slips below the cutoff over the next eight races, Trackhouse Racing could go without having any of their cars in NASCAR’s postseason for the first time since 2021.
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