Van Gisbergen has just one full season of oval racing under his belt in the second-tier NASCAR Xfinity Series and before his graduation to the Cup Series he ran just eight oval races for Kaulig Racing in the top division.
The Trackhouse Racing driver was a standout in the second points-paying race of the 2025 season, running at the front at Atlanta Motor Speedway before being shuffled back.
Van Gisbergen got caught in a last lap wreck. Nevertheless, Hamlin was impressed by how the Kiwi held himself in the draft.
“I thought he just did a phenomenal job,” said Hamlin on his Actions Detrimental podcast.
“Just with the little experience that he has doing that, he was holding a pretty damn steady line. I was behind him quite a bit.
“Self-admittedly, I’m a little worried. It’s like ‘Oh gosh!’ He’s getting crammed on both sides. This is typically where people kind of panic and make mistakes when you haven’t done this for a long time.
“I just think that he is rapidly gaining some really good experience and really getting quite a bit better on ovals quicker than what I was anticipating.
“My father once told me, elite drivers can drive anything and they will find a way to adapt to racing the machine that they’re in.
“I went through this when I was transitioning from go karts to mini stocks to late models. He was like ‘Denny, it’s just a different machine’. The things that you do still apply to make speed, you just have to figure out what this car wants to make that speed.
“I think he’s just an elite level athlete that he’ll be able to do it all.”
Van Gisbergen has spoken previously about having help from NASCAR Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick and Australia’s most successful stock car racer Marcos Ambrose.
The 35-year-old said he is still getting to grips with oval racing but has found the support of his mentors invaluable.
“I learn from everyone. I study as much as I can and I’ve had some good teachers,” van Gisbergen explained.
“I had Marcos Ambrose a lot last year and Kevin Harvick and I talk with Kevin this year whenever I need him.
“There is nothing like this type of racing anywhere in the world on ovals. Every week, even Atlanta a couple of weekends ago, I was learning something every lap.
“You just have to keep your eyes open and keep learning and trying to evolve. It’s easy to forget these guys have done that type of racing since they were kids.
“There are some guys that I’m two seconds a lap quicker than around a road course, but on an oval, they are unbelievable.”
Van Gisbergen will continue his season at Phoenix Raceway on Monday, March 10.
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