Kevin Harvick fires back at critics of Shane van Gisbergen, NASCAR season

It’s becoming increasingly difficult for the NASCAR world to dismiss Shane van Gisbergen’s success this season. Still, many traditional fans maintain that his road course prowess is inconsequential, his playoff spot undeserved. Kevin Harvick begs to differ, as evidenced in his comments from the latest Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour.

“So let me ask you this. He’s won three races. Bell, Denny Hamlin, Larson won three races. So, if you take the types of tracks off and just—they haven’t won on a road course—so what’s the difference? Let’s just say it ends right here. I think he wins one of the two road courses that we have left. So let’s just say he ends the season with 4 wins and 5 poles, and the season’s over. That’s a pretty successful Cup season, for anybody,” Harvick stated.

Cry, whine, beg as we might, NASCAR road course racing is nothing new. And, for the sake of the sport’s long-term outlook, it is most definitely here to stay. Granted, there are significantly more road courses on the Cup schedule than in decades past, and that is certainly a worthy subject for debate. But, in the immortal words of Ice-T, “Don’t hate the playa, hate the game.”

It has become abundantly clear how much of a “playa” Shane van Gisbergen truly is over the past few weeks. He is the fastest driver to reach 4 wins in the modern NASCAR era (34 races). One has to flip the pages back to Parnelli Jones in 1967 for better (31 races). And the argument that SVG is somehow undeserving of a playoff spot struggles to hold up against the surprisingly realistic path he has earned himself in 2025. No one is claiming the man has a great shot at the title, but who knows? Talladega lies in wait after the second round Roval, and absolutely anything can happen there.

It sure looks like Shane van Gisbergen is capable of winning ovals eventually

Yes, SVG has struggled mightily on anything without a right turn since making the move to NASCAR. His lack of performance on ovals is a fair criticism. But from what he’s shown in the Cup Series this season, it’s hard to say he won’t be able to figure it out.

In the immediate aftermath of his Sonoma win, SVG was quick to address the weakest point of his NASCAR racing, reaffirming his commitment to improving on ovals. Kevin Harvick has no doubt SVG will improve in this regard. He believes the former Supercars champ already has.

“And I think he will,” Harvick said, acknowledging SVG’s desire to improve his left-turn racing. “I mean he already has. He’s already improved on the ovals. His racing IQ is super high.”

While SVG likely won’t be winning a championship this year, steady growth on ovals through 2025 is a recipe for some truly scary potential next season. That is, unless his anticipated Trackhouse teammate Connor Zilisch has anything to say about it.

“The only thing that slows it down next year is Connor Zilisch if he goes Cup racing,” Harvick warned.