Shane van Gisbergen missed the Chase cut after Ryan Preece won the regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway, but he's not phoning it in for the rest of the season.
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The Trackhouse Racing driver has specific goals he and the No. 97 team want to hit before heading into the offseason. They want to get the performance to another level after spending recent weeks experimenting.
"I think we just need to get it turned around a bit," Shane van Gisbergen told FanBuzz at Bristol Motor Speedway. "It's been pretty average, especially the last month.
"But we have been trying stuff, I guess, is the reason. Yeah, obviously, it hasn't been working. So hopefully, we can just get it pulled in the right direction and start building up for next year, and yeah, try and find some speed in our cars."
What have these experiments included? According to van Gisbergen, they have tested different setups, different floors, and different geometries. Essentially, they have tried whatever they could under NASCAR's Rule Book in an effort to find speed.
Van Gisbergen won two races this season — both on road courses — while continuing to gain experience in the Cup Series. He also showed progress on oval tracks, highlighted by a consistent performance at Charlotte Motor Speedway and a career-best oval finish (fifth) at Nashville Superspeedway.
Van Gisbergen and teammate Ross Chastain also both finished inside the top 14 at Richmond Raceway as the end of the regular-season approached.
The recent weeks, however, have seen Trackhouse Racing's performance dip. Van Gisbergen finished 20th at New Hampshire, 26th at Daytona due to a late fuel stop and a wreck, 26th at Darlington, 23rd at Gateway, and 20th at Bristol.
The entire team has struggled with consistent speed this season, especially while adapting to the new Chevrolet body, so this is not a problem limited solely to the No. 97 team.
It's just that some of the experiments have exacerbated the issues during this recent portion of the NASCAR season.
"Yeah, the car's been a little bit different this year, I guess, with the body, and what we've had in the past hasn't been working," van Gisbergen said.
"So, I think it's good we're trying stuff, but might make us go some steps backwards before we go forwards."
Fortunately for van Gisbergen, the team has a bit of runway as it tries to snap the average streak. He has already confirmed his return for the 2027 Cup Series season.
Trackhouse Racing extended his contract last August, which provides more opportunities to compete on ovals and push for improved performance.
