Indy was the best NASCAR oval race yet for Shane van Gisbergen
SPEEDWAY, Ind. — Shane van Gisbergen had his best oval race in NASCAR yet Saturday in the Xfinity Series at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The three-time Repco Supercars champion-turned-NASCAR regular finished fourth Saturday.
“That’s awesome. At the start, I was still learning, a bit too conservative but got better,” van Gisbergen said.
Shane van Gisbergen started 23rd but gained nine spots avoiding a large crash on the first laps. van Gisbergen gained a few more spots, finding himself in 10th when the race finally went green on lap seven for longer than two turns.
While he lost three positions, he pitted for fresh tires on lap 18. He restarted 24th on lap 20 and jumped to 16th when the first stage ended 10 laps later.
van Gisbergen pitted for tires again and actually jumped to 15th. That started the climb for him as he was 10th when a caution fell with just a few laps to go in stage two. van Gisbergen was ninth among the drivers who came to pit road and exited seventh, lining up ninth on the restart since two drivers didn’t pit.
Seventh was where he finished stage two, kicking off an impressive run to the checkers.
On the first restart in stage three, on lap 66, van Gisbergen made a bold three-wide pass on Aric Almirola and Austin Hill to get fifth. He stayed there for another 19 laps, fending off all challenges and showing his growing comfort with oval racing and drafting.
On lap 85, everyone fourth through 13th pitted after a multi-car crash on the backstretch. van Gisbergen’s crew executed another solid stop, restarting 13th on lap 89 as some other drivers didn’t pit. It only took him three laps and he was back in the top-5. To top it off, he took fourth with on lap 97 and finished there.
“The car got better and so did I. I love how the cars slide around, the Xfinity series is fun. We took tires and the restarts were wild and had a blast,” van Gisbergen said.
Shane van Gisbergen earned a 96.8 (out of 150) driver rating, spent 82% of the race in the Top-15 and had an average running position of 11th — all career-best marks for him on an oval in NASCAR. Not to mention, the fourth-place finish, which was his second Top-5 finish on an oval in NASCAR. Van Gisbergen also tied his best oval stage finish as he also finished seventh in stage one at Talladega in April.
The Kiwi leads the series with three wins. Combined with two stage wins he earned along the way, he has 17 playoff points. If the playoffs started today, that would put him in the No. 5 seed:
- Justin Allgaier – 2026 (10 playoff points for being second in points, 11 pts for 11 stage wins, 5 for a race win)
- Cole Custer – 2023 (15 for points leader, 3 for three stage wins, 5 for a race win)
- Chandler Smith – 2022 (7 for fourth in points, 5 for five stage wins, 10 for two wins)
- Austin Hill – 2021 (8 for third in points, 3 for three stage wins, 10 for two wins)
- Shane van Gisbergen – 2017 (2 for two stage wins, 15 for three wins)
- Riley Herbst – 2013 (6 for fifth in points, 2 for two stage wins, 5 for a win)
- Jesse Love – 2013 (4 for seventh in points, 4 for four stage wins, 5 for a win)
- Sam Mayer – 2011 (1 for a stage win, 10 for two wins)
- AJ Allmendinger – 2005 (5 for sixth in points
- Sheldon Creed – 2003 (3 for eighth in points)
- Parker Kligerman – 2003 (2 for ninth in points, 1 for a stage win)
- Ryan Sieg – 2002 (1 for 10th in points, 1 for a stage win)
Six races remain until the NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs begin.
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com