Shane van Gisbergen shared an opinion on the Charlotte Roval that many would not expect the NASCAR road course ace to have. This past weekend, NASCAR returned to the Charlotte oval for the fall Chase race after racing on the Charlotte Roval from 2018-2025.
The Charlotte Roval is a hybrid road course that stretches 2.28 miles across the 1.5-mile oval and through the track’s infield.
SVG, who has eight career Cup victories that have all come on road courses, delivered a blunt remark about the Charlotte Roval.
SVG on Charlotte Roval: ‘This is a [expletive] Road Course’
Following a seventh-place finish in Sunday’s Cup Series Bank of America 400, SVG was asked if he preferred NASCAR’s return to the Charlotte oval.
The 37-year-old from New Zealand was straightforward in his response to the question.
“I love road courses. This is a [expletive] road course, so I don’t mind that. More road courses would be good but I like this oval, I guess,” SVG said.
SVG has shown great improvement on oval tracks in the Cup Series. That has continued into the Chase despite not being a Chase driver as van Gisbergen finished seventh at Las Vegas and ninth at Charlotte.
The difference in SVG’s day was having both grip and balance, the driver believes.
“You always want grip and balance. We’ve had balance and been slow and had grip and been out of balance, so it’s really nice to have both,” SVG said.
SVG on Trackhouse Improvements: ‘Some Good Progress’
Despite slipping behind early in Sunday’s 267-lap race, SVG was pleased by his team’s adjustments to his No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet.
Given the difficult year Trackhouse has had with none of their three drivers making the Chase, SVG was thrilled to see the organization make strides at Charlotte.
“At the start, I did drop back quite a ways and then the guys made the car a lot better. Pretty stoked with the result and good points day. Ross [Chastain] looks good as well so shows some promise for the team. Normally, we’re battling for 30th, so it was nice to be battling for 10th. Some good progress, so good job everyone,” he said.
The driver of the No. 97 does not believe the strong showing at Charlotte does much for him but rather to get positive momentum in his team’s favor.
“Not much. It’s just good for everyone. … It’s just good to get some momentum going,” SVG said.
SVG is in his second full-time season of NASCAR Cup Series competition. Last year, the former Supercars champion posted five victories, which came in five of the six road-course races for the Cup Series last year.
It was the most wins in a single season for a rookie.
SVG took the NASCAR world by storm in 2023 when he won in his debut race, the Chicago street race. In 2026, SVG has two victories that came at Watkins Glen and Sonoma.
With eight road course wins, SVG is one win shy of Jeff Gordon, who holds the record for most wins on road courses in Cup Series history with nine.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
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