It’s an incredible stat that defies logic for someone as successful as the three-time Supercars champion and triple Bathurst 1000 winner.
Not including the non-champion Duel at Daytona and Clash at Bowman Gray, van Gisbergen has an average finish of 27.5 from the seven races to date.
Only Cole Custer (Haas Factory Team) and Cody Ware (Rick Ware Racing) have worse averages of 28.4 and 30.7 respectively.
On average, the Trackhouse Racing driver is among the lowest qualifiers.
Ware has the worst average with 34 which is followed by Hyak Motorsports’ Ricky Stenhouse Jr with a 28.7 average.
Remarkably, Stenhouse Jr is able to move forward in races, with an average of 17.7 at the chequered flag.
Riley Herbst of 23XI Racing is neck and neck with van Gisbergen. Herbst has a 26.8 average while van Gisbergen is bogged down at 26.7, meaning he typically only gains one place per race.
If there’s some consolation, it’s that the New Zealander’s Trackhouse Racing teammate Daniel Suarez doesn’t fare much better. The Mexican has a 26.1 average starting position but does climb to 21.4 in-race.
Ross Chastain is streaks ahead of them both, however. The American’s average starting position this season is 19.4 and that rises to 16.1 by the race’s end.
So where has it all gone wrong?
There’s no obvious reason for van Gisbergen’s struggles, although the theme has been an ill-handling car on the intermediate ovals, short tracks, and solitary road course.
Let’s look at his season, race-by-race.
Daytona 500 (33rd): Van Gisbergen had a strong start at Daytona and even led the race briefly before he was caught in an awkward accordion of cars checking up. Nose-to-tail contact caved the nose in of his car and damage to the airbox ultimately ruined his race.
Atlanta (23rd): Again, it was an encouraging start to proceedings at Atlanta. He led at the high-banked superspeedway but was the victim of a last lap crash.
COTA (6th): Everyone expected van Gisbergen to win at Circuit of the Americas. He qualified sixth and finished sixth, battling a car with a ton of understeer before the balance switched and he couldn’t get any corner exit traction.
Phoenix (31st): Another crash while buried in the mid-pack damaged his car too badly and he retired.
Las Vegas (34th): Another DNF, this time after a spin damaged the floor of his car. Van Gisbergen bemoaned an ill-handling car, noting a problem with the right front. Eventually, something in the right front corner gave way and he was spat into the outside wall.
Homestead-Miami (32th): Again, van Gisbergen battled handling issues and finished 32nd, a lap down.
Martinsville: After his career-best oval finish at Martinsville a year earlier, there were high hopes upon his return – but they were quickly dashed. Van Gisbergen finished six laps down after losing a wheel. Before that, he struggled with mid-corner handling.
Van Gisbergen has 19 more opportunities to score a win and earn himself a shot at the playoffs.
If the trend is anything to go by, that’s a distant possibility on an oval. However, there is one road course where he could be the standout.
A maiden visit to Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez could be his ticket to the knockout races. That race is the second-to-last round of the regular season before the in-seasoun tournament. He’ll also have chances at Chicago, Sonoma, and Watkins Glen before the playoffs begin in September.
Right in front of him is Darlington Speedway where he was 15th in the Xfinity Series and 26th in the Cup Series with Kaulig Racing.
“It’s one of my favorite tracks that we race,” said van Gisbergen in the team’s event preview.
“Darlington is such a massive challenge and it’s a track everyone wants to win at.
“The history of the racetrack brings a different feel when we get there and get out on track. It’s pretty neat.
“I ran well there in the Xfinity car last season and struggled a bit in the Cup car, but excited to see what my WeatherTech team can accomplish this weekend.”
2025 NASCAR Cup Series’ worst finishers (minimum seven races)
| Driver | Team | Average Start | Average Finish |
| Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing | 34.00 | 30.71 |
| Cole Custer | Haas Factory Team | 25.43 | 28.43 |
| Shane van Gisbergen | Trackhouse Racing | 26.71 | 27.57 |
| Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | 25.14 | 25.00 |
| Noah Gragson | Front Row Motorsports | 20.00 | 24.57 |
| Riley Herbst | 23XI Racing | 26.86 | 24.43 |
| Erik Jones | Legacy Motor Club | 19.00 | 24.00 |
| Carson Hocevar | Spire Motorsports | 19.29 | 23.86 |
| Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | 23.00 | 23.86 |
| Daniel Suarez | Trackhouse Racing | 26.14 | 21.43 |
Despite a tough start to the season, van Gisbergen said he is enjoying the challenge.
“It’s a massive difference racing every week, rather than every two or three weeks,” he said.
“It’s been good to build a relationship with a whole bunch of different people, the No. 88 guys, a lot of new people at Trackhouse, but just learning everyone and getting into a rhythm is probably the biggest thing.
“It still feels fresh but there are 30-something more weekends to go. It’s a long season, but I’m enjoying the new challenge.”
Don’t give up hope yet. Van Gisbergen isn’t the first to struggle, and won’t be the last. NASCAR legend Kurt Busch spoke with Speedcafe earlier this year and reckons the Kiwi will have his head around the Cup Series in no time. You can read about that HERE.
Van Gisbergen will be back in action at Darlington Raceway on April 7.
