A week after racing his way into the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, Shane van Gisbergen is bringing measured optimism to Pocono Raceway. The New Zealander now finds himself relaxed with a locked-in postseason berth, heading into the final leg of the regular season.SVG led 60 of 100 laps en route to victory at the Viva Mexico 250. However, speaking at the pre-race press conference at the tri-oval, he was recalibrating his strategy as a driver with something to prove on ovals. Reflecting on how the win changes the trajectory of his season, SVG told reporters (via Peter Stratta):"It was always our goal to win. There's probably less pressure on road courses now and we can play with our strategy if we want to try and get playoff points now and stuff like that but probably less pressure, we can enjoy the road courses a bit more. But the ovals we just need to keep doing what we've been doing and keep our head down keep improving every week." (2:03 onwards)Shane van Gisbergen's emphatic win at the iconic Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez etched his name in the history books for the largest road course margin of victory in the Next Gen era (16.567 seconds). It was also the biggest Cup road course win since 1979, a reminder of his generational road racing talent.SVG's win also secured Trackhouse Racing's second win of the season, as he joined teammate Ross Chastain in the playoffs. The driver of the #88 Chevrolet now has two wins, three top-fives, and six top-10s, with an average finish of 10.9 across eight road course starts.But this Mexico win also highlighted how far the No. 88 team at Trackhouse Racing has come. In just his 30th Cup start, SVG not only showcased elite precision but a sense of rhythm that had been missing from earlier oval weekends. And that, he says, is thanks to patient progress."That's a huge improvement": Shane Van Gisbergen embraces steady oval gains after Mexico breakthroughTrackhouse Racing driver Shane Van Gisbergen during the NASCAR Cup Series Mexico City Race-Source: ImagnFor all the flair on road layouts, the ovals have been a long learning curve for Shane van Gisbergen. While Cup Series regulars have grown up on superspeedways and intermediates, the Kiwi is still adapting to a completely new racing language. Still, the signs of growth are real.In the last six races, SVG has five top-20 results. He ran 18th at Michigan and battled from P30 to 14th at Charlotte. His average oval running position has also improved as a result, as he continues to prove that he deserves a full-time seat."We've been frustrated with top 20s the last couple of weeks, which is, a huge improvement for how we started. Our potential is getting a lot better and hopefully we keep getting close to that back end of the top 10. That would be good," SVG added. (2:25 onwards)SVG now heads to Pocono Raceway, a uniquely challenging 2.5-mile triangle-shaped oval. Though still learning the ropes, he has the benefit of Trackhouse's momentum and the confidence of knowing a Playoff spot is secured."This track will be a tough one. I struggled here actually last year but also our cars weren't that good either. I was racing my teammates near the back, so it was a tough one but yeah just looking forward to keep improving," SVG recalled (1:21 onwards)With four road course races still left in the regular season, SVG has the chance to solidify his playoff standing and dismiss the criticism of his oval racing. At Pocono, Shane van Gisbergen will line up in 23rd place in the 12th row, with Denny Hamlin starting from the pole.