NASCAR star Shane van Gisbergen admits he needs to 'step it up' to make postseason

NASCAR star Shane van Gisbergen has admitted he needs to step things up on ovals if he is to feature in the Cup Series postseason.

Just eight races of the regular season remain heading to Chicagoland this weekend, after which the top 16 drivers in the standings will compete in The Chase - a revamped championship format for 2026.

Following his second victory of the season at Sonoma on Sunday, van Gisbergen moved up three spots from 17th to 14th and back inside those Chase spots in the standings as he targets a postseason berth for the second consecutive campaign.

What's different this year compared to last, though, is that 'win and you're in' is no more, and in 2026, the Kiwi and his fellow drivers must earn their qualification for The Chase across the entire regular season campaign, on both road courses and ovals.

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Shane van Gisbergen on Chase chances

While there has been a big improvement in van Gisbergen's oval performance so far this year, he has still only managed to finish inside the top 10 on two occasions.

With that said, the Kiwi knows he has to step things up if he is to maintain his place inside the top 16, particularly given that there are no more road courses to come.

"It [winning at Sonoma] certainly helps, but I need to really step it up on the ovals," van Gisbergen said after winning on Sunday. "We [Trackhouse Racing] all do.

"Yeah, certainly helps us, but this is an oval championship, and I need to keep getting better at them."

Consistency key for SvG

In his winners' press conference, van Gisbergen once again touched on what he needs to do to make The Chase.

"I mean, now I just have to do my best every week and keep improving, don’t do anything stupid. Just accumulate points," the Kiwi told the media.

"I can’t get in stupid accidents like Pocono with people. Yeah, just 10th to 15th is good enough for us and better if we can. Yeah, try and get stage points. That’s always been something difficult I’ve found on ovals. Qualify well. Start up front. Hopefully we get better.

"It’s going to be consistent finishes every week, and having a points mentality will hopefully get us in there."