Shane van Gisbergen, the rookie NASCAR driver, spoke about picking up the challenge of driving at Gateway ahead of the Cup Series race on Sunday, September 7. As the playoffs are in full swing, a positive result at the track will be pivotal for his championship bid.Shane van Gisbergen gave a candid talk on his race preparation in the build-up to the most important NASCAR playoff contest in World Wide Technology Raceway (Gateway), a place where he had never seen the track before race day. He confessed that he has not been doing much sim racing of late and that he prepared by mostly using video analysis and SMT (Simulator Motion Technology) equipment.The Kiwi rookie disclosed that his team decided to install the car with left-foot braking based on his experience at Martinsville. Although racing a new track in his rookie season is not going to be easy, van Gisbergen is enthusiastic about building a good rhythm in practice, thanks to the high consistency of the track and the low fall-off at Gateway.While speaking to NBC Sports editor Dustin Long, SVG said:"Yeah I haven't really done sim for a while so yeah just video mainly and SMT so probably watch more drivers than usual and there's a lot of technique and style differences at both ends especially the second corner you can use third or fourth gear and so yeah just trying to study trends and what works and what the good guys did and why but yeah it's gonna be it's a tough week coming to a pretty important race in a place I've never seen before today."Shane van Gisbergen qualified for the 2025 NASCAR playoff race on the World Wide Technology Raceway (Gateway) in 18th place. Although it was his first time at the track and one of the very important playoffs, he could beat some of his playoff competitors, such as Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman, who qualified in the 19th and 25th positions, respectively. The qualifying position puts him well above the playoff cut line, which keeps him in a competitive position for the race.Shane van Gisbergen sets the record straight on being written off as a championship candidateShane van Gisbergen has been a remarkable presence in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series, quickly establishing himself as a top contender despite being in his rookie season. He secured his playoff spot by winning at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez and went on to accumulate four wins and multiple top-10 finishes throughout the season, demonstrating exceptional skill on road courses. Recognized as NASCAR's Rookie of the Year, Shane van Gisbergen entered the playoffs ranked sixth in points, a testament to his consistent performance and ability to compete at a high level against seasoned veterans. Addressing his chances for the championship title during the media day before the previous race at Darlington Raceway last month, he said (quotes via Racer):“It doesn’t worry us. It puts no pressure on us, right? If we have a good week this week, it takes the next few harder. But if we have a tough week, it puts us in a hole, and it’s going to be hard to get out of it."“Hopefully, it’ll be nice to prove people wrong,” he added.Despite his successes, van Gisbergen faces skepticism regarding his chances to advance deep into the playoffs due to his relative inexperience on oval tracks.