Kevin Harvick suggests road course gap between Shane van Gisbergen, NASCAR field is only getting bigger

Kevin Harvick has been awestruck by Shane van Gisbergen’s performances at road courses since joining the NASCAR Cup Series. That point was driven home once again this past weekend, as the New Zealander won the Chicago Street Race for the second time in three seasons.

With another road course at Sonoma Raceway on the docket for this coming weekend, Harvick believes another dominating weekend could be on the horizon for SVG. On the latest episode of Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour, the former Cup Series champion tried to make sense of what makes the 36-year-old such a threat.

“The way that SVG came into the sport in 2023, when he won his very first race, and now we’re on the third year, and I think he’s won four of the six races at Chicago, with the Xfinity and the Cup races. He was in position to win the Cup race last year, as well. Got taken out there, or run into. The thing about Shane, on these types of courses, where the braking is rough, the way that he can manipulate the brakes, and do the things that he does, the driving style that he has,” Harvick explained. “The things that he likes in the car, I think he’s gotten better at knowing what he wants in the car, and incorporating some of the things that he wants in the car on the road courses, especially when you get to these street courses.

“We’re really seeing the evolution of SVG. Now, that gap between how fast he is, compared to the guys behind him, is starting to grow. I think that the closest guy to him, over the last two road courses, has been Ty Gibbs. I think the closest guy to him moving forward will be Connor Zilisch, in that mix, going forward at Watkins Glen.

“But I think his experience in the car, knowing what he wants in the car, being more comfortable as a Cup driver, having the same crew chief week-in and week-out, the same team week-in and week-out, has allowed him to evolve in what he likes even better than he had before. I think it’s just making him more dominant on the road courses.”

As Harvick alluded to, there may be some drivers who can challenge SVG at times on road courses, but there’s been nobody we’ve seen that can match his dominance. When his car is humming, he can do some special things, and we saw that at Chicago and Mexico City earlier this season.

Time will tell if he can notch win No. 3 at Sonoma this coming weekend. Kevin Harvick will be watching closely to see if anyone can sniff Shane van Gisbergen, but if history tells us anything, another trip to Victory Lane might be on the horizon for the Trackhouse Racing wheelman.