CONCORD, N.C. — Shane van Gisbergen has made significant progress on oval tracks and superspeedways since making the full-time move to NASCAR, but last weekend's trip to Texas Motor Speedway proved to be quite educational.
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He saw that having only one start at Texas Motor Speedway in the No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet made it a big more difficult to figure out.
"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."
The trip to Texas appeared uneventful from the outside. Yes, van Gisbergen qualified 30th, but he kept his car clean while avoiding the single-car spins that collected William Byron, Todd Gilliland, and Kyle Larson. He made it over the sketchy bumps without crashing, and he finished 17th.
Yet, as van Gisbergen joked at the NASCAR Production Facility, not many saw the big moments where he almost lost control of the No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet.
Shane van Gisbergen made a comment to @zachstur about how he “went backwards” at Texas, so I asked for clarification.
After all, he avoided the single car spins. pic.twitter.com/niKWNchkOK— John Newby (@JohnNewby_) May 5, 2026
"You don't go to these tracks much," he said. "And I forgot how bad the bumps were at (Turns) 3 and 4, and I hadn't run up the track that high before.
"I was still exploring and learning these things, and yeah, Kyle (Larson) passed me at one point and I'm like, 'Okay, I'll start running what he did.' And then he spun out three laps later. It was, 'Oh, I'm going back low again.' Yeah. Just these tracks are so dynamic, and I'm still learning how to manage and read it."
The former three-time Supercars champion has more work to do on ovals as he tries to secure a spot in The Chase. He will have multiple opportunities to do so after heading to Watkins Glen International, the road course where he is the defending winner.
The upcoming tracks on the schedule include Dover (All-Star Race), Charlotte, Nashville, Michigan, and Pocono. These will provide benchmarks for both Trackhouse Racing as the team tries to find consistent speed and for van Gisbergen as he tries to become more competitive on the traditional tracks.
"Like it's no secret, it's been pretty difficult, I think, to start the year," he said. "We haven't been where we expected or hope to be, obviously. You're never just going to turn up and have magically fast cars.
"You know, the fast cars are still going to be good. We still lack in some areas, and drivers still need to be better too."
This will not be a simple task, especially considering how small the margins are between a race-winning car and one that runs outside the top 20. Having limited practice only amplifies this issue.
Yet if the team can gain ground while van Gisbergen continues to make progress on ovals, they can push for a spot in The Chase. After all, he is only 27 points below the cutline.
