The three-time Supercars champion has just three races remaining in the NASCAR Xfinity Series before the playoffs begin and will be part of the Round of 12 thanks to his win at Portland Raceway.
In the first round of the playoffs, there is just one road course-style race on the Charlotte Motor Speedway ‘Roval’ where he stands a good chance of winning.
However, beyond the Round of 12, there are no road courses.
Van Gisbergen will happily admit he has a long way to go to match some of the more experienced heads who have raced on ovals all their life.
Qualifying has been a sore spot for van Gisbergen. With little to no practice at most events, it has meant learning on the fly in-race for the most part.
“I’m quite conservative and build up to things, which is kind of just the way our racing is [in Supercars],” van Gisbergen told Speedcafe.
“[In Supercars] we have a lot more practice, a lot more laps. You can ease yourself into things. Here [in NASCAR], you get a 20-minute practice and one set of tyres, and the tyres only last two laps.
“By the time I’ve got the track figured out and comfortable to push, my grip drops. Then qualifying comes around and I’ve got to find two seconds. I find one, but not two, so you start off the back.
“I just take my time – and it’s good because I’ve been finishing races, getting results, and normally by Stage 3 I’m pretty competitive.
“It’s a good thing and a bad thing. I’m getting results and bringing cars back straight, but now that we’ve got a few wins and we’re in a pretty good playoff spot with points – it’s not like I’m going to intentionally go out and crash – but I can go and find some limits a bit more.”
The approach to qualifying has been the toughest assignment for van Gisbegren to get his head around.
NASCAR qualifying is either a single-lap run or a two-lap run to determine the gird. That’s a far cry from Supercars where each driver gets upwards of 20 minutes to set multiple laps at a typical SuperSprint weekend.
Add to that, the mindset of qualifying on ovals and how drivers approach it is completely different, as van Gisbergen explained.
“It’s different here,” he said.
“In qualifying, at a Las Vegas or a one-and-a-half-mile-type track, you know a corner is not flat out, you’re going to have to lift at some point and drive through the corner.
“I would anticipate it and then wait for the car to do its thing and then drive through the corner at what I feel like is the limit, whereas other guys will just go flat-out until it slides.
“It’s like they know the corner is not going to be flat, but they try anyway,” he laughed.
“Like everyone here is just 10 tenths on the ragged edge and huge risk, which is awesome. I’m getting to the stage where I’m getting comfortable to do it, but it’s a huge, huge difference in that regard.
“Especially in qualifying when you’ve only got one lap instead of three tyre sets to build up that will last two laps of tyre, you’ve got half a warm-up lap to get to the start line and then you go. It’s really difficult.
“Qualifying is definitely improving, but not stellar on the ovals. My genuine speed has really picked up, and that’s been a constant improvement all year, and I still feel like I’m driving within myself. That’s a good thing, and that’s only just going to keep improving.”
Van Gisbergen continues his season at Atlanta Motor Speedway where he will once again be on double duty in the Cup Series and Xfinity Series.
The Xfinity Series gets underway on Sunday at 5am AEST with the Cup Series race on Monday at the same time.
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