Shane van Gisbergen turned a rough qualifying session into a fighting top-20 result, finishing 17th in the Würth 400 at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday. Starting from 30th in his Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet, the New Zealand driver navigated multiple cautions, loose handling, and late-race incidents to deliver his second straight top-20 finish in the NASCAR Cup Series.
This outcome matters for a driver still adapting to the demands of intermediate ovals in his rookie full-time Cup campaign. After a string of tough weekends, it provided a much-needed points day and some stability for the #97 team as they head into a busy stretch of the schedule.
Van Gisbergen has shown flashes of speed on ovals this season, like his career-best sixth at Atlanta, but consistency has been hard to find amid the bumps, traffic, and pack racing that define places like Texas.
Van Gisbergen reflected on the effort right after the race. “I had a bad qualifying so I needed to make up for that,” he said. “I thought yesterday, Kyle was much better today, just kept hitting the bumps and having big moments. So, kind of limited us to the bottom lane. It is good, they were having 4-5 bad weeks in a row, so yeaa, it is good to get a decent result. Just good after the last few weeks to get a result and have a straight car.”
1. Early Struggles and Stage 1 Survival
The day started tough for SVG. He lined up deep in the field after qualifying issues, and the car felt “very, very loose” early on. Communication hiccups meant the team missed some of his feedback before the first pit stop, leaving him without ideal adjustments. Despite that, he kept it clean through the opening chaos.
Stage 1 featured plenty of drama up front. Christopher Bell’s day ended early after contact with a spinning Todd Gilliland. Van Gisbergen worked his way to 22nd by the end of the stage, gaining spots through patient driving while others wrecked or fell back. A timely caution helped him get a lap back when he briefly dropped off the lead lap. His Trackhouse teammate, Connor Zilisch, ran stronger, finishing 16th, while Ross Chastain ended up 26th. It highlighted the #97 car’s challenges on the bumpy Texas surface, where van Gisbergen noted the handling forced him to stick mostly to the bottom lane.
Stage 2 brought more yellow flags and pit-lane incidents. William Byron spun on his own, Joey Logano and Cole Custer tangled heavily in the pits (both retiring), and other contacts scattered the field. Van Gisbergen restarted 26th at one point but kept grinding. He broke into the top 20 around lap 109 and held midfield position through much of the stage.
He pitted strategically under a later caution and restarted 19th for a one-lap Stage 2 shootout. Chase Elliott took the stage win, but SVG’s 19th-place stage finish kept him in contention for a solid overall result. The race’s unpredictable nature, spun by Kyle Larson and others, played into his hands as long as he avoided trouble. For a driver with van Gisbergen’s road-course pedigree (multiple wins and strong runs at places like COTA), these oval tests test every bit of his adaptability. He’s been improving, gaining positions in standings earlier in the year before some setbacks dropped him back around 19th overall heading into Texas.
2. Final Stage Grind and Late Drama
© Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
The last stage settled into longer green-flag runs, letting van Gisbergen focus on consistency. He ran around 17th-19th for stretches, chipping away where he could. With 11 laps to go, a spin by Corey Heim forced another caution. SVG pitted under it, restarting 19th, but drove smart in the final sprint to cross the line 17th, just behind his teammate.
Chase Elliott held off Denny Hamlin in a close finish for the victory, his second win of 2026. Tyler Reddick, Alex Bowman, and others rounded out the top spots in a race full of attrition. For van Gisbergen, it wasn’t flashy, but it was effective. No major damage, no blown tire, just a straight car at the end after weeks of struggles.
You could hear the relief in his radio comments. Coming off finishes like 20th at Talladega and worse results at Kansas and Bristol, this felt like forward momentum.
Trackhouse has been competitive at times, but ovals remain a learning curve for the Kiwi superstar transitioning from Supercars dominance. His ability to save big moments when the car got loose speaks to growing comfort in stock cars.
3. What It Means for SVG’s Season
This 17th-place run adds valuable points and keeps van Gisbergen in the mix as the playoff picture starts to take shape. He’s shown he can contend on road courses and has that one standout oval result earlier this year. Building on days like Texas, where he maximized a car that wasn’t quite there, will be key to climbing the standings further.
NASCAR’s next stop is Watkins Glen on May 10, a road course where van Gisbergen has historically excelled. That should play to his strengths and give him a chance to score big. After the grind of Texas, it’ll feel like a reset, but the lessons from battling bumps and traffic at an intermediate like this will carry over.
Fans watching van Gisbergen’s transition have seen the highs (wins and podiums) and the growing pains. Sunday was one of the good ones in a tough environment, proof that persistence pays off even when qualifying lets you down. For a driver who’s already rewritten parts of the NASCAR story in his short time stateside, results like this keep the momentum alive heading into the heart of the season.
The #97 team will debrief the handling notes, tweak setups, and prepare for a track that should feel more natural. If Texas were about survival and steady gains, Watkins Glen could be about going on the attack. Either way, SVG’s post-race vibe said it all: after tough weeks, a decent result with a straight car feels pretty damn good.