On his first trip to the Nashville Superspeedway, Shane van Gisbergen did exactly what was asked of him.
The 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series Rookie of the Year contender quietly completed laps and chipped away at the field on Saturday, ultimately finishing 15th in his debut at the 1.33-mile concrete oval.
Not even the intense Tennessee heat could faze van Gisbergen, who once more learned as Saturday’s race went on.
It was known going into the season that van Gisbergen would be a threat to win on the road courses, but the ovals were the biggest unknown for the Supercars legend. So far, van Gisbergen has been impressively adaptive, earning eight top-15s and 11 top-20s in his first 14 oval starts in the Xfinity Series.
van Gisbergen even netted top-10s in oval races at Atlanta and Phoenix, proving that when the right circumstances arise, the 35-year-old can put everything together for a good run. In a season where van Gisbergen is seeing many tracks for the first time, learning quickly is extremely important, especially with short practice sessions being the norm in modern-day NASCAR.
With most Xfinity Series races being 300 miles or less, van Gisbergen has to learn on the fly once the green flag is out. Nashville was another example of this, as, despite a 28th-place starting spot for Saturday’s Tennessee Lottery 250, he was up to 18th by the end of Stage Two.
In Stage Three, van Gisbergen held serve while also collecting a couple of spots. van Gisbergen’s 15th-place finish may not be earth-shattering, but it’s another feather in the cap of a driver who seems to be more adaptable than any other in NASCAR history.
The good news for van Gisbergen? He gets a one-week respite from new tracks next weekend, as he’ll visit the Chicago Street Course – the site of his incredible Cup Series victory one year ago.
In addition to potentially winning his third Xfinity Series race of 2024, van Gisbergen will have the opportunity to defend his Chicago triumph from one season ago. Unfortunately, the 2.5-mile Pocono Raceway — also known as the “Tricky Triangle” — looms for van Gisbergen after Chicago.