Shane van Gisbergen displays a drastic change at the All-Star Open qualifying

NASCAR Cup Series rookie Shane van Gisbergen exhibited a drastic shift in his performance at the North Wilkesboro Speedway. The Trackhouse Racing driver, who has yet to show dominance in a points-paying race this season, has clinched the NASCAR All-Star Open pole, courtesy of the collaborative efforts of the #88 team.

SVG isn't a Cup champion, 2024 or 2025 Cup race winner, or All-Star Race winner, so he doesn't have a guaranteed spot in the million-dollar event. Thus, he had to qualify for the Open. The top two finishers in the Open will advance to the main event, followed by one driver through fan vote. The New Zealander is among the five drivers whom fans have considered for the iconic event.

Following a dominant beginning to the All-Star weekend, the Open polesitter, who is struggling on Ovals and visited NWS for the first time, expressed that Trackhouse "finally got all the things right."

"Yeah, I think we finally got all the things right. Qualifying has been a weakness. My lap was pretty good, coming in was good, pit stop guys were insane so really good for them. Thanks to WeatherTech, thanks to the Trackhouse pit crew, and we're up front for tomorrow. I've never started at the front for an oval so I don't know what to do there. I have to learn the rules and see how we go," SVG said via NASCAR.

The 36-year-old total qualifying time consisted of his run plus the time the #88 team consumed to complete a mandatory four-tire pitstop during the three-lap event after Lap 2.

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Shane van Gisbergen comes clean on his struggle to race on Ovals

Shane van Gisbergen-NASCAR: Cup Practice and Qualifying - Source: Imagn

Shane van Gisbergen entered the Cup Series with a bang, securing a debut win at the 2023 Chicago Street Race. The inaugural was held on the street circuit, something the New Zealander is well versed in racing on, courtesy of his three Supercars Championships. However, he is still struggling to dominate the Ovals.

It's worth mentioning that SVG displayed satisfying performances on the Ovals in his rookie Xfinity Series season last year. He won three races on road courses and finished the season in 12th. But he couldn't do the same with the NextGen cars in the Cup Series.

That being said, the rookie clarified ahead of the All-Star weekend that it "will take time" to improve his Oval racing skills.

“I never expected them to be easy, but I thought I was making strides last season in Xfinity and really getting some good results halfway through the year.. I need to be a bit better with car placement and getting up to speed quicker. It’s so difficult when you only have 15-20 minutes of practice, then straight into qualifying. It’s hard to get up to speed on these places I haven’t been before. It will take time and I’m not trying to force it or get desperate. Just going to keep working and building," Shane van Gisbergen said via SpeedwayDigest.

Shane van Gisbergen is ranked 35th in the NASCAR Cup Series standings.