Shane van Gisbergen on NASCAR playoffs: 'Most overcomplicated racing series I've been a part of'

2024 has been a year of firsts for Shane van Gisbergen.

First full-time season in NASCAR, first Xfinity Series win (three of them at that), and now, first playoff appearance. It’s all new for the New Zealand native and three-time Supercars champion. Van Gisbergen has competed in many different forms of racing, but when it comes to the Xfinity Series, he believes it’s the “most overcomplicated racing series” he’s ever been a part of.

Speaking with Deb Wiliams of Autoweek ahead of this past Saturday’s playoff opener at Kansas, van Gisbergen revealed he spent time earlier in the week studying the playoff system to make sure he understood how it works.

“I studied it last night [last Monday] trying to understand how it works,” van Gisbergen said. “The playoff system is crazy. It’s the most overcomplicated racing series I’ve been a part of, but I think it’s pretty cool. It’s great for the fans.

“One of my sponsors put out an article explaining the playoffs and how that all works. I had no idea how it works. It’s so complicated. So, I shared that on my pages and there’s people saying, ‘Oh, thanks, I didn’t know that’s how it worked.’ Everyone was reading it, learning with me. So, that’s pretty cool.”

Shane van Gisbergen getting first taste of NASCAR playoff action

Van Gisbergen, 35, entered the postseason as the No. 5 seed in the 12-driver field. He won all three of his races in the regular season at road courses (Portland, Sonoma, Chicago Street Race). Van Gisbergen finished P8 at Kansas, a sign that he’s continuing to improve on ovals.

Next up on the playoff schedule is the ever-unpredictable Talladega before the Round of 12 concludes with the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course, a track seemingly custom-made for van Gisbergen. He finished 22nd at Talladega in the spring and admitted he’s still learning the intricacies of superspeedway racing.

“When you watch a superspeedway race casually, it’s the most boring thing ever. It’s a good time to have a nap,” van Gisbergen said. “But when you understand the racing and what’s happening, the fuel saving, the positioning, the stage points, seeing what’s going on, and then in the race itself, there’s some bits in the Cup side that can be dull, but, man, there’s just so much happening throughout the whole race. The track evolution, the cars, the placement, when you understand it, it’s a lot going on.

“I talk with my friends in New Zealand who are really into the racing now, and they watch it all, they understand the points, the adjustments in the pits, what goes into all the pit stops. The pit stops are an art in themselves, especially the five lug stuff, it’s pretty cool to see. There’s been cool amount of fans follow me over in Australia and New Zealand that really have no idea the finer details of this racing. It’s been cool to share that experience with them.”