Van Gisbergen made a spectacular NASCAR debut in 2023, winning on the streets of Chicago before signing with Trackhouse to race in the Xfinity Series in 2024 with Kaulig Racing.
He made a series of one-off starts in the Cup Series in 2024 with Kaulig Racing before graduating full-time to the Cup Series in 2025.
With one race remaining in the #88 Chevrolet Camaro at Phoenix, van Gisbergen has five road course race wins to his name and one oval top 10 finish.
Year one has been all about learning. SVG started the year slowly, cracking the top 20 for the first time in the eighth race of the season at Darlington.
His results gradually improved, and by the end of the season was regularly challenging for top 10 finishes.
“I had a lot of fun, but it was definitely a grind at the start,” van Gisbergen told reporters at Phoenix.
“Not frustrating, but it was a process. The last half of the season, I’m not ready to stop racing. I feel like we’re getting better and better. If we kept racing, I’d be happy.
“Obviously it was amazing to get the wins and I think it was definitely two seasons for us,” he added.
“The road courses were obviously great and then the ovals, the second half of the year has been awesome.
“We’ve really improved and learned a lot. I feel like every week we’re learning something and getting better and better. Pretty happy with how the season ended up.”
Van Gisbergen re-signed with Trackhouse Racing earlier this year on a long-term deal, ensuring his future at the stock car squad is safe for the foreseeable future.
The Kiwi in the constant pursuit of progress. Asked what he need to improve on, SVG said there isn’t one area that he needs to target.
“There are a lot of things I need to get better at,” van Gisbergen explained.
“Lots of different styles of tracks. It’s generally just keep on improving, keep on learning, keeping my eyes open and just trying to be better at everything.
“It’s just taken time, and as I said, I feel like I learn something every week and can take something out of every week to get better at the next one.
“Learning how the car dynamics work. Tracks like Vegas where you’re going so fast. When you go slow into the corner, the cars don’t feel that good.
“You’ve got to go in flat, land in the banking, and then see what the car does. It’s pretty eye-opening to tell yourself to just tighten the belts, grow some balls, and drive in flat.
“It’s tough, this stuff. It’s just taken me a while to get used to it.”
Van Gisbergen’s final Cup Series start of 2025 takes place at Phoenix Raceway on Monday at 6am AEDT with coverage live and exclusively on Fox Sports and Kayo Sports. He will start from 31st.
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