Can anyone compete with Shane van Gisbergen on a road course in the NASCAR Cup Series? That’s the question Denny Hamlin is posing, after the New Zealander won his fourth race of the season this past weekend. The man affectionately known as SVG has been a revelation on road courses, winning four in a row […]
Can anyone compete with Shane van Gisbergen on a road course in the NASCAR Cup Series? That’s the question Denny Hamlin is posing, after the New Zealander won his fourth race of the season this past weekend.
The man affectionately known as SVG has been a revelation on road courses, winning four in a row and giving himself a nice advantage for the playoffs. The Trackhouse Racing star is far and away the class of the field at these tracks, and he proved it again at Watkins Glen this past weekend.
While examining who can match up with him, the only name that came to mind is wunderkind Connor Zilisch for Hamlin. However, he’s not sure that even the young superstar in the Xfinity Series can handle SVG in Cup.
“I think he wins road courses for the foreseeable future,” Hamlin stated, via his Actions Detrimental podcast. “I mean, in straight up equipment, Connor’s beating him in Xfinity. So, you could say that what could be coming is essentially a kind of a one-two battle there.
“Now, this tire and car is going to react a lot different than what the Xfinity car seems like. Connor was really, really good. But now, he’s really like, fine-tuning his skill in the Xfinity car. When he comes to Cup, he’s really good, still really fast, but still not qualifying like P2, P1. There’s unrealistic expectations we’re putting on him right now, but it’s what we expect.
“I think it’s what will come in the next year or so where it’s likely that these two will be head and shoulders still above the field. Likely the only battle you’ll have is between those two to figure out who’s going to win the road course race that day. Unless something wacky happens. That’s the only way.”
As far as current full-time Cup Series wheelman though, Hamlin believes it’s van Gisbergen’s world, and they’re all living in it: “I don’t think so. I think, if anything, he just continues to get more track time at these tracks. The gap has stabilized,” Hamlin added. “… There’s a certain element where the fans will get a little fatigued with it.
“We do have to appreciate the greatness that we’re seeing on this type of racetrack though. It’s something to be admired and certainly exposes the rest of the field to show that like, there’s more left there.”
Alas, it’s tough to believe anyone can compete with Shane van Gisbergen on road courses, especially after the dominant performance he put forward in New York. Perhaps there’s a wheelman that can break through and compete with the Trackhouse star next time around, but Denny Hamlin isn’t betting on it.
Category: General Sports
