Seventeen points stood between Shane van Gisbergen and a place in NASCAR’s restored Chase postseason. Despite recording two victories and two poles across 26 regular-season starts in the No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet, the three-time Supercars champion saw his playoff cushion vanish during the closing laps of the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway. Ryan Preece captured an overtime victory to claim the final postseason berth, eliminating van Gisbergen's remaining mathematical advantage at the conclusion of the regular season.
Pit Crew Overhauls and the Closing Laps at Daytona
Trackhouse Racing instituted a major operational change ahead of the regular-season finale, swapping almost every over-the-wall pit crew member on van Gisbergen's No. 97 entry before green-flag racing began at Daytona. During the race, van Gisbergen battled directly against Austin Cindric and Preece for the final postseason positions. A late pit stop dropped van Gisbergen into traffic during the closing stages, leaving him exposed when the event pushed into overtime. The result capped a multi-race points slide; following his victory at Sonoma Raceway in late June, van Gisbergen held a 36-point margin above the cutline before pack racing and midfield finishes gradually erased the cushion.
Oval Progression and Off-Track Investments
While missing the postseason cutoff ended van Gisbergen's immediate championship ambitions, his Cup Series campaign reflected continued development on oval tracks alongside his established road-course strengths at venues like Sonoma and Watkins Glen. At Richmond Raceway, van Gisbergen took an innovative approach to the race that teammate Connor Zilisch followed, helping Zilisch find speed during the event. Off the asphalt, van Gisbergen also built his own dirt track in Mooresville, North Carolina.
Van Gisbergen's high profile has simultaneously maintained momentum within the trading card market. Highlighting demand among racing collectors, a 2026 Panini Turn 4 Gold KA-VROOM insert card featuring van Gisbergen recently brought $3,250 in secondary market sales, ranking alongside major hobby transactions for veteran Cup Series drivers.
Postseason Contenders Ahead of Darlington Opener
With van Gisbergen joining the non-playoff field for the remaining 10 races, attention shifts to the opening postseason round at Darlington Raceway. Denny Hamlin enters the playoff stretch as the top seed after securing a seventh-place finish at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Hamlin faces a formidable playoff grid anchored by a surging Team Penske lineup, where Ryan Blaney enters with momentum following back-to-back victories at New Hampshire and Joey Logano has surged from 20th to ninth in the standings over the last six races. Preece also joins the title hunt carrying the walk-off momentum of his Daytona triumph.
Sources
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- nascardradio.com original
- foxsports.com original
- supercars.com original
