As we head to the road course stretch of the season, there's one driver who's become the strongest contender in the standings: Shane van Gisbergen.

During a recent episode of ‘The Teardown,' Jeff Gluck explained how SVG could put himself back in the conversation.

“We’re 11 races in. Now, we’ve got Watkins Glen next week. As it stands now, SVG is only 27 points out of a playoff spot. By the time we’re doing this podcast next week, let’s say SVG has gone out and won this race and has a huge points day, right? And maybe he's launched himself back into playoffs.”

With the new points format, the race winner bags 55 points. These points play a crucial role as they help drivers like SVG who are outside the chase cutoff make it into the bubble. 

To add to this, the upcoming races are at the road course, which in the past has been SVG’s biggest strength. During the race at Mexico City in 2025, the Trackhouse Racing driver won pole position and won the race with a margin of 16 seconds. He also has one of the highest winning percentages at road courses.

If SVG manages to win one of the races, he could change the way the playoff table looks. That's because between 13th and 19th place, it's only a 58-point difference. With Naval Base Coronado and Sonoma Raceway coming up, we can see a massive shakeup.

For now van Gisbergen is looking to overcome the result in Texas.

Shane van Gisbergen Had a Tough Time in Texas

The Trackhouse Racing driver has made a significant amount of improvement at the ovals. But he struggled at the Texas Motor Speedway. The three-time Supercars champion previously only had one start at the track. This made it a bit difficult to figure out the track. 

"I felt like I went backwards a bit going to Texas," he told media members on Tuesday. "It's a track I haven't been to much and, yeah, I went there and, 'Oh s***, I've still got so much to learn here.’ You know, whereas other tracks, I'm really getting to know them and know what I want the car to feel like and stuff."

Despite it being his second outing at the track, Gisbergen kept a very clean race. He started the event on the 30th and slowly made up places while avoiding various crashes. He finished the race in 17th. 

Now, he will look to defend his win at Watkins Glen. In two races at the Glen, Gisbergen has never started lower than third and has never finished lower than second.

You can read more on the Daytona Racing Digest!

Written by

Chionia Libania Colaco

Edited by

Siddharth Shirwadkar