Shane van Gisbergen’s dominance around the track has now raised eyebrows throughout the grid, overwhelming track legends like Chase Elliott. The latter has dominated the modern benchmarks in track racing, yet still admits that the rest of the Cup garage is still trying to catch up to Gisbergen’s abilities.

“I certainly feel like we — and myself in particular — have a lot of work to do to get to the performance that those guys have had.” He further acknowledged, “I think he and his performance and the job that he and his team have done are going to make the rest of the field better. I think that’s just how it works.”

The discussion emerged against the backdrop of the 2026 Go Bowling at The Glen, where SVG now enters after winning five of the last six Cup road-course races.

SVG’s arrival from Australian Supercars began his journey of unchallenged dominance, which was first met with his historic victory at the Chicago Street Race, where he, not surprisingly, became the first driver to win the Cup circuit in his very first race. This dominance was further pushed by SVG’s control in the Next Gen car.

However, on the question of whether SVG’s dominance can be challenged, Elliott added, “I think it’s totally doable… and I hope that we’re among those that improve and can at least catch up at some point in time.”

Despite it all, the question again arises: how and why did SVG manage to eke out such dominance on NASCAR’s circuits, and what’s the magic formula?

The Supercars formula that changed NASCAR's road racing

Well, the formula, if any, is Australian experience. SVG’s rise mirrors that of an earlier disruption caused by Australian Marcos Ambrose, who compelled changes in drivers during the late 2000s and early 2010s.

Ambrose brought his experience from V8 Supercars, which allowed him to time his braking better. This made him one of the greatest road-course specialists in modern NASCAR history.

He won six NASCAR races at Watkins Glen across Cup and Nationwide competition, including historic Cup victories in 2011 and 2012, while repeatedly dominating Sonoma and Montreal as well.

Ambrose’s success was the formula that proved anyone driving Supercars, which teaches better braking, curb usage, and tire management, could very well translate and dominate NASCAR circuits.

And this experience is exactly what SVG utilizes, forcing the drivers of his generation, as Ambrose did for his, to adapt or be left behind.

Read more at the RFK Racing Digest!

Written by

Uday Jakhar

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason