Best comparison I’ve ever heard.
Brad Keselowski managed to perfectly describe the sensation that is NASCAR Cup Series driver Shane Van Gisbergen, the 36-year old New Zealand native and driver of the #97 car for Trackhouse Racing.
SVG, who entered the Cup Series as a 3-time champion in the Australian Supercars Championship series, made quite the splash in NASCAR when he won his first ever Cup Series start, at the Chicago Street Course back in 2023.
He spent the 2024 season in the Xfinity Series (now the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series), winning 3 races that season (all on road courses) and finishing 12th in the final points standings. And last year, he made the jump to the Cup Series full-time, winning an incredible five races and making the playoffs in his first full year in the top series.
But all five of his wins came on road courses, and though most of them were in dominating fashion, SVG also struggled on oval tracks and ended up getting eliminated during the first round of the playoffs.
With a best oval track finish of 10th at Kansas Speedway in September, there was plenty of chatter over whether SVG was a “road course ringer” or a one trick pony, and whether he was occupying a ride that could have been used for a driver who is better overall and not just at one type of track.
SVG’s results throughout 2025 showed a definite improvement on oval tracks: When the Cup Series returned to a track for a second time, his finishing position improved by an average of 8 spots as he finally began to mesh with his team and get comfortable behind the wheel at what was to him a relatively new form of racing.
This season, though, has started even better: After a disappointing 30th place finish following a crash in the Daytona 500, Shane has scored finishes of 6th, 2nd and 11th so far through the first four races. He’s sitting at an impressive 5th in the points standings, and there are still 3 more road courses on the schedule where he’ll no doubt be a heavy favorite to win one, if not all, of the races.
The fact that SVG has managed to improve so much at oval tracks has to scare his competitors at least a little bit, given the fact that he’s also been so dominant on road courses: If he manages to put together a full season of strong finishes, there’s a very real chance that the New Zealand native could be contending for championships in the Cup Series sooner rather than later.
It’s something Brad Keselowski discussed this week while filling in for Dale Earnhardt Jr. as host of the Dale Jr. Download, and Keselowski managed to break out the best possible metaphor to describe SVG’s Cup Series career:
“SVG was kind of like Happy Gilmore if he could learn how to putt. You know what I mean?”
Of course he’s referring to the Adam Sandler classic, where Happy Gilmore could out-drive all of his competitors but couldn’t putt to save his life. But when he got that aspect of his game down, the rest of his competitors were in trouble – which is exactly what’s going to happen if SVG starts winning races on oval tracks.
Keselowski, who not only drives the #6 car in the Cup Series but is also the owner of RFK Racing, admits that he was skeptical of Trackhouse giving the seat to SVG:
“I thought putting Shane in, like, all right, so you’re going to win some road courses. This is a team ownership hack to get a car locked in the playoffs. You’re now guaranteed top 16 in points. Your charter value goes up. Your company value goes up. It almost felt like SVG was a prop for the company.”
But given his success, Keselowski now sees Shane as becoming the top driver at a team that also includes hardnose driver and proven winner Ross Chastain, along with rookie phenom Connor Zilisch:
“Now he’s like becoming the face of Trackhouse. I think he’s their highest car in points. So, you know, I know we only have a four-race sample size, but it’s pretty good.”
Gonna be scary for the rest of the field when Happy finally figures out his putting game.
@dirtymomedia_ SVG is kinda like Happy Gilmore if he could learn how to putt. ⛳😂 Brad Keselowski’s thoughts on SVG are incredible.
