Shane van Gisbergen reveals his biggest strength and weakness entering NASCAR playoffs 

Despite 2025 being Shane van Gisbergen's first full season in the NASCAR Cup Series, the Trackhouse driver made the coveted playoffs. The New Zealand driver won four road course races this season, with the most recent one coming at Watkins Glen in August 2025.

But Shane van Gisbergen, who has yet to master running on NASCAR’s ovals, is well aware of his inexperience. Thankfully, his team has been helping him day in and day out, making it his biggest strength.

When asked about his biggest strength and weakness ahead of the playoffs, the former Supercars icon said,

“Strength, I guess, is my team. I got awesome people in my corner, and I know they'll do anything for us to succeed. Seeing the work and preparation in the team has been, it's been awesome. Like, the vibe and how knuckled down everyone is...it's really cool to be a part of that.” (4:39 onwards)

Speaking of his weaknesses, Shane van Gisbergen admitted that it was his inexperience and highlighted the contributions of his team in helping him improve.

“The weakness is me, it's my inexperience, and I've got those people helping me to get better,” he added.

In 26 starts this year, Shane van Gisbergen has amassed four top-fives and five top-10s, along with three poles. He has led 252 laps in all, with an average finish of 21.077. Currently, he sits sixth in the driver standings.

---

Shane van Gisbergen says he is “cool” being the underdog

In the latest episode of Actions Detrimental, Cup Series veteran Denny Hamlin named Shane van Gisbergen as one of the four drivers he thinks will be eliminated in the first round. The others, according to Hamlin's predictions, would be Austin Dillon, Josh Berry, and Austin Cindric.

However, Shane van Gisbergen isn’t too concerned about anyone believing that he will be a first-round exit. After all, he doesn’t mind being the underdog.

“It doesn't worry us," Gisbergen said. "It puts no pressure on us, right? If we have a good week this week, it makes 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 will be nice to prove people wrong, too.”

“It's always fun to have your back against the wall, and have to push hard. I don't use it for motivation or anything, but it's cool being the underdog,” he added.

Gisbergen is just days ahead of the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, which happens to be the inaugural race of the 2025 playoffs. Scheduled for Sunday, August 31, the 367-lap event will be televised on the USA Network (6 pm ET) with live radio updates on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.