SVG out of the Nascar Cup playoffs

Trackhouse Racing’s Shane Van Gisbergen was eliminated from the Nascar playoffs over the weekend. Just about everything went wrong for the Kiwi at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon.

“I just needed to put myself in better spots and understand what was going on earlier in the race” said van Gisbergen. 

“We got the car handling better for what I needed but I was just too hard on the tyres with the way I was driving the car.”

He started 28th in Saturday night’s 500-lap Nascar Cup Series race. By lap 30 tyre wear had him two laps down. To make matters worse, his cool suit was playing up. He had to endure cabin temps of 45 degrees throughout the race. 

Van Gisbergen had a series of spins and finished three laps down but survived the chaotic race. However, he was not high enough up to avoid elimination. Still, Rookie of the Year isn’t a bad way to end 2025. The race was won by Christopher Bell who managed tyre wear better than his close rivals. 

It was evident in the first stage that the rubber would be critical in the race, and that proved to be the case throughout. 

Twelve racers remain and advance to the second round. Four drivers are eliminated every three races, with the four remaining drivers competing in a winner-take-all Championship race at Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 2.