Denny Hamlin reacts to impressive performance from Shane van Gisbergen at Bowman Gray

Shane van Gisbergen will join Denny Hamlin as a full-time wheelman in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2025, and he started his first full season on the circuit at The Clash inside Bowman Gray Stadium.

Throughout preparation for the venue in Winston Salem, SVG was a bit of an afterthought, as many wondered if he could perform at a more traditional oval-style track in North Carolina. However, he impressed his fans and his detractors alike, finishing P9 over the weekend when it was all said and done.

He certainly caught the attention of Hamlin. During the latest episode of his Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin spoke glowingly of SVG’s performance, believing he’s beginning to become a factor on a bevy of different style of tracks in NASCAR.

“I thought he had a good weekend. I thought he did,” Hamlin stated, regarding van Gisbergen. “He saw it all around. You didn’t hear much from him. That’s a good thing, right? And he went to a tight oval, something that he’s probably not completely used to. However, I think about, you know, this is probably a good transition track for him. He’s run ovals, right? He’s got some oval experience now.

“But as far as like, understanding how to make short-speed on short-tracks, I can see where — there’s been many corners he’s probably approached in Supercars that have been like Bowman Gray corners. Tight. You know, how do you handle this tight radius corner? You’ve got a couple ways to do it, right? You can do the higher entry, like I was doing, and other guys were doing. Do you chop it? Do you diamond it? Do you straight roll the bottom? There’s many ways to approach it.

“Depending on what your car is doing, I think that, you know, this probably fits into Shane’s wheelhouse of, ‘Oh, I get it. It’s a corner, it’s a tight corner, it’s a hairpin. How do I get around it the best way?’ And I think that, you know, this is a typically a track I think he would shine at. And he did. Once you start, I don’t know, getting into the corner, it all becomes comes back to you, as far as how to get around it.

“And, you know, he’s learning, right? It’s going to take some time, and you’re definitely going to have to temper your expectations on, you know, mile-and-a-half tracks and things like that. It just will take some time to get fully up to speed.”

The NASCAR world already knew what SVG could do on road courses, but if he’s able to compete on all different styles of tracks during his first season in the Cup Series, the rest of the drivers on the circuit could be in trouble.

One thing is for sure, Denny Hamlin won’t be taking Shane van Gisbergen lightly in 2025. Not at Daytona, not at tracks like Bristol and Martinsville, and certainly not on road courses, but that was already a given.