“The bumps in this car are crazy”: Shane van Gisbergen talks about his oval gains after Mexico City victory

Following a race-winning performance in Mexico City last week (June 15), Shane van Gisbergen returned to oval racing at Pocono Raceway. He claimed that the Next-Gen car felt bumpy around the Tricky Triangle, which he thought was different from the Xfinity car, but at least he improved his oval prowess.

This year marks SVG's rookie season in the NASCAR Cup Series with Trackhouse Racing. He ran a full-time schedule in the Xfinity Series in 2024, where he only managed a 31st-place finish in the #97 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet at Pocono Raceway.

Speaking about driving the Next-Gen car (seventh generation) at the 2.5-mile Pennsylvania track, Shane van Gisbergen said the bumps were “crazy”, including on the tunnel, which is the track's turn two with an eight-degree banking.

“The bumps in this car are crazy. Through the tunnel, I was struggling yesterday, not knowing what's normal. Felt like it was coming off the ground,” the Kiwi driver told Amazon Prime (via NASCAR on X).

Regardless, the three-time Supercars champion had oval gains over the weekend, adding:

“But man, it's fast. Into turn one, you sort of turn in flat, and it's like tricky, as they say. I got pretty good at the end. I felt close to my teammates in qualifying... so pretty good.”

When asked about his thoughts on his season after winning in Mexico City and improving on ovals, SVG replied:

“I think our genuine speed is getting better and better, so just got to keep working at it.” [0:55]

After finishing mostly outside the top 30 on ovals early in the 2025 season, Shane van Gisbergen is showing progress. He has finished inside the top 20 in three of the last four oval races, including a 14th-place finish in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

SVG started the Pocono Raceway in 23rd, tying his best qualifying effort on points-paying oval races in his rookie Cup season. Meanwhile, he has finished inside the top 10 in the first two of six road course races this year.

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Shane van Gisbergen shares F1 champion's advice for his win in Mexico City

In a post-race interview in Mexico City, Shane van Gisbergen was asked what four-time Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen had told him about racing in Mexico City. He was told about picking certain racing lines, which seemed to have worked out after he finished in first place.

The #88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet driver said (via NASCAR):

“Yeah. A little bit in the wet, and just what lines to take and how to approach it. What a guy.” [3:02]

Shane van Gisbergen may not race in the same series as Max Verstappen, but both drivers are under the Red Bull camp. Verstappen is also a proven winner at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, finishing P1 in the Mexican Grand Prix five times.

In addition to a playoff berth, SVG recorded the largest win margin in the NASCAR Cup Series since Kurt Busch at Texas Motor Speedway in 2009. He also became the first driver to win his first two races in inaugural races at a track (2023 Chicago street race and 2025 Viva Mexico 250) since Marvin Porter over six decades ago.