The Kaulig Racing driver wound up his first season in the second-tier series with a 12th place finish at Phoenix Raceway.

All told, van Gisbergen recorded 10 top 10 finishes including three wins across Portland, Sonoma, and Chicago.

Van Gisbergen made it into the playoffs but only got as far as the Round of 12 after crashing out at Talladega Superspeedway.

Speaking with Frontstretch for Speedcafe after an up-and-down conclusion to his season, the 35-year-old said he was happy to cap off his first campaign.

“It was pretty tough tonight,” said the #97 driver.

“We got going at some points and 12th is a decent result for how I felt at the start. The first stage was terrible.

“I’ve had a really good year and I’m glad we got to do this year with Kaulig Racing and do a year of Xfinity rather than jumping straight into Cup.

“I’ve had a really good year of learning and even though the cars are very, very different I think it was worthwhile doing.

“I’m pretty excited for next year and getting together with the Trackouse guys, but thankful for Kaulig Racing and what they’ve done for me and how they’ve prepared me for next year.”

Van Gisbergen will step up to the Cup Series in 2025 with Trackhouse Racing where he’ll join Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez.

There’s an air of expectation that the Kiwi will make the playoffs in his first Cup Series season with four road courses and one street circuit.

However, van Gisbergen is keen to develop his skills on the mile-and-a-half ovals like Atlanta Motor Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and Kansas Speedway.

“My biggest weakness is the one-and-a-half-mile tracks,” he explained.

“Just learning how the air works and the speed of those Cup cars is mental how fast they are.

“Short tracks and the superspeedways I’ve been getting a lot better at – every race, still learning. Mile-and-a-halfs, that’s probably my biggest focus to get better.”

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