Van Gisbergen Playoffs bound in rookie NASCAR Cup season
Shane van Gisbergen Playoffs bound in rookie NASCAR Cup season
Van Gisbergen to start Playoffs ranked sixth after four regular season wins
Three-time Supercars champ finished 12th in 2024 Xfinity Series
Supercars legend Shane van Gisbergen is now officially set to race for a NASCAR Cup Series championship in his rookie campaign.
Van Gisbergen, 36, will commence the NASCAR Playoffs next week ranked sixth in the Playoffs standings.
The three-time Supercars champion scored a provisional Playoffs berth with his victory in Mexico City earlier this year. However, he added three more wins in Chicago, Sonoma and Watkins Glen to rack up Playoffs points, which will prove crucial in his title hopes.
Heading to the first Playoffs round next weekend in Darlington, van Gisbergen is seeded sixth, behind Kyle Larson, regular season champion William Byron, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney and Christopher Bell.
Van Gisbergen is 16 points clear of the cut-line in the Playoffs standings, with four drivers knocked out after the three-race Round of 16 part of the season.
In terms of season finishes, the Kiwi is already set to outdo fellow Supercars champion Marcos Ambrose, who finished a best of 18th in his rookie season in 2009, before matching it in 2012.
Given he is the only rookie in the Playoffs, van Gisbergen will be named Rookie of the Year at the end of the year. He is the first foreign-born driver to win Rookie of the Year honours in the Cup Series since Juan Pablo Montoya in 2007.
Van Gisbergen kept his nose clean at Daytona on Saturday (Sunday AEST) to finish 16th, with 2023 champion Ryan Blaney coming from 13th on the penultimate lap to take the win.
The three-time Bathurst 1000 winner led six laps before being shuffled out of line, and opted to run at the back before the final caution.
“It was a decent day,” the 80-time Supercars race winner told MRN radio.
“Kept the car straight, led some laps, and learnt a lot again. I felt good about it. Just a little bit too tight and bound up to push Daniel [Suarez, teammate] really well.
“I could help him a little bit but not enough to get all the way through. He almost got there but I wish I could have been a better teammate. I was trying.
“Ready for next week. We’ve got a cool couple of weeks coming up and hopefully get some good results.”
The 2025 Repco Supercars Championship will resume at the first Ryco Enduro Cup race, the AirTouch 500 at The Bend on September 12-14, followed by the Repco Bathurst 1000. Tickets are on sale. International viewers can watch on SuperView.
After Bathurst, the top 10 drivers will race for the drivers' championship in three elimination rounds in The Finals.
