Justin Marks evaluates Shane van Gisbergen, NASCAR development after Roval win

For the fifth time this season and fifth road course in a row, Shane van Gisbergen walked away on Sunday as the winner. His talent and skill on these courses have challenged the rest of the NASCAR field. Justin Marks knows that the best is yet to come.

Shane van Gisbergen had another double-digit margin of victory. This time, it happened at the one road course that arguably should have given him trouble, the Roval. But it didn’t.

After the win, Justin Marks, Trackhouse Racing team owner, spoke to the media. This win came off the back of SVG’s first top-10 finish on an oval. So, what does Marks think about his future progression?

“I think that we don’t think of benchmarking,” Marks said. “I think, you know, at this stage of Shane’s development in specific results on the racetrack, top-10s, top-15s, things like this, it’s more just him understanding air, understanding the different racetracks, understanding how to unload and be maximally effective the first couple of laps of practice.

“Just all of the things that come together and end up in results in a running order on the racetrack, it’s still so new to him. He still is not even two years into racing ovals in his life, and I think the fact that he went to Kansas and had a top-10 finish and ran the way he did at Richmond and ran the way he did at New Hampshire I think is incredible.

“You look at just how difficult this thing is, that people spend years and years and years of their career trying to figure out these difficult racetracks out, and we’re just throwing him to the wolves and standing back and saying, Go figure it out, you have 20 minutes of practice.”

So, what are the next steps for Shane van Gisbergen? Well, whatever he’s been doing is working. Looking at how Trackhouse has been overall, it’s not shocking that he hasn’t done well on the ovals. There are days when not even Ross Chastain can figure out his car on the ovals for the team.

Moving forward, SVG is going to be even better. Justin Marks knows that, and it’s why they have committed to him long-term.

“When I think about his benchmarking or I think about his progression, it’s just to keep doing what he’s doing, which is just immerse himself in the data, immerse himself in video, talking to people, learning, spending time with Stephen, spending time with his engineers, and just investing in the process and just knowing that the more that he learns and the more that he is patient, that those results will come,” Marks continued.

“That’s why we signed him to a multi-year deal like we did, because we know that they will come. The fact that he’s so quickly already starting to find his way into the top 10 on the ovals, I think that there’s a very, very high ceiling there that can make him remarkably dangerous.”

Shane van Gisbergen has flat-out embarrassed the field at times. On Sunday, there were moments of drama. Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell did their best. But without a late caution and a chance to get physical on a restart, it was all in vain.

Trackhouse Racing is adding another road course ace to the roster next year. So, Shane van Gisbergen might have to move over for a race or two. Connor Zilisch is one of the only drivers to beat him on a road course in NASCAR this season. In 2026, they’re teammates.