Justin Marks showers praise on “incredible” Shane van Gisbergen despite recent critics

Justin Marks, the co-owner of Trackhouse Racing, recently showered Shane van Gisbergen with praise for his race-winning performance at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City. He mentioned that van Gisbergen adapted to the circumstances of the race despite a small number of crew involved with the team.

At Viva Mexico 250, Shane van Gisbergen produced a dominant performance to secure a whopping 16.567-second margin over the second-placed Christopher Bell. In the historic event, which was the first points-paying race outside of the United States in the modern era, the New Zealand native led for 60 of the 100 laps to deliver the largest victory margin since 2009.

Shane van Gisbergen's mastery of the road course, because of his history as an Australian Supercars driver, was on full display in the second road course of the season, especially given the early wet conditions and his own pre-race illness, which required medical attention.

Justin Marks said on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio:

"The way that the cars unloaded and, you know, we fought through some adversity and just having kind of a skeleton crew at the racetrack on Friday, you know, we just felt very, very confident in the company, really."

"When you take a guy like SVG, who's, who's so smart and, and just adapts so quickly to new things in a good cup car to a new track that no one's ever been to before. It's just, if we do our job, it's just really hard to bet against him. And, you know, that's why he's in the 88 car to do the things like he did on Sunday. It was really incredible."

This is the Kiwi rookie’s second career Cup Series victory, following his sensational debut win at the Chicago Street Course in 2023, marking his name as the sport’s elite when it comes to road courses. This victory has allowed him and his team a ticket into the playoffs despite entering the race ranked 33rd in the standings.

Meanwhile, van Gisbergen's win also drew heavy criticism from NASCAR fans and commentators alike because of the concept of the "win and you're in" playoff system. A lot of people felt that it was unjust that a driver ranked 33rd in the standings—who had only one or two top-10's all season—could get a playoff spot from winning a single road course race, whereas a driver who placed top-10 consistently over the course of the season may miss out if they don’t win.

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Shane van Gisbergen gets real about becoming a NASCAR championship contender after Mexico win

Shane van Gisbergen’s victory at the Viva Mexico 250 marked a turning point in his rookie full-time NASCAR Cup Series campaign and established him as a legitimate championship contender. Starting from pole, van Gisbergen showcased his road course expertise by sweeping Stage 2 and dominating the event, ultimately crossing the finish line 16 seconds ahead of the competition.

After the win, the 36-year-old New Zealand driver talked about the playoffs and fighting for the championship.

"Yeah, it means everything to us. That's essentially why I'm here, right? But I am getting better and more competitive on ovals. I said earlier, my average oval running position has gone from 85th to 10th to 20th or 10th to 15th on a good day," he said via ASAP Sports.

The Mexico win not only broke a streak of finishes outside the top 10 for Shane van Gisbergen but also secured him a playoff berth. He will be joining his Trackhouse Racing teammate Ross Chastain in the postseason field.