Chase Elliott credits Kiwi star Shane van Gisbergen for his road course prowess

Chase Elliott applauded Shane van Gisbergen for raising the bar on road course racing in NASCAR. The Dawsonville native believes SVG's talents should be celebrated and push other drivers to improve in non-oval races.

Shane van Gisbergen—a three-time Supercars champion—made a stunning NASCAR debut by winning on the streets of Chicago in 2023, followed by a full-time Xfinity Series campaign in 2024. Now competing with Trackhouse Racing in 2025, he’s captured four of the five road course victories so far this season.

This weekend, Elliott, SVG, and the rest of the Cup Series drivers will compete in the last road course event of the year at the Charlotte Roval. The media took the opportunity to ask the #9 Hendrick Motorsports driver about his thoughts on the Kiwi driver.

“There's no question he's done a fantastic job. I've always tried to give him the credit that I think he deserves for the discipline and how good he is at it, and I think that should be celebrated,” Elliott said in a press release.

The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion added:

“I think you just give credit where it's due, and I think he's a good racer. He's always raced me with a lot of respect, and you know, from my perspective, I just want I just want to get better and try to put myself and our team in the ballpark to go up there and run with it.”

Chase Elliott (#9), Chase Briscoe (#19), and Shane van Gisbergen (#88) - Source: Getty

Chase Elliott himself isn't too shabby when it comes to road course racing this year, collecting three top-five finishes. One of those came at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City, where he stepped on the third-place finish in a unique podium celebration with race winner Shane van Gisbergen and Christopher Bell.

The final road course of the 2025 season at the Charlotte Roval is scheduled for Sunday at 3:00 p.m. ET. Elliott is entering the 109-lap race in a comfortable position after securing a Round of 8 appearance with a win at Kansas Speedway last week.

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Chase Elliott lays out his mindset for Charlotte Roval

Despite his current playoff situation, Chase Elliott isn't letting up at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He’s determined to take the checkered flag and claim the extra five playoff points awarded to race winners.

The 29-year-old believes the additional playoff points will help him advance to the Championship 4 round at Phoenix Raceway, saying (via Speedway Digest):

“My mind is really all about (the) Charlotte (Roval) right now because five more points would be a really big deal for us starting the next round and we will be in a position where you're going to have to fight for wins over the next round too.”

So far, Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney are the only playoff drivers locked in the Round of 8. Meanwhile, the drivers entering the elimination race at the Charlotte Roval while sitting below the cutline are Ross Chastain (-13), Bubba Wallace (-26), Tyler Reddick (-29), and Austin Cindric (-48).

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Edited by Zarec Sanchez