In NASCAR, stories of success are objective. They are defined by winning championships and years of dominance. However, once every blue moon, the timeline shifts, and dominance is redefined, and Shane van Gisbergen has just done that.

With his latest win at Sonoma on Sunday, he has thrust himself into the Hall of Fame conversation. SVG still doesn't have an oval win, but in Sonoma, he recorded his eighth road course triumph in the Cup Series, equaling Tony Stewart for second on the all-time list of road course wins.

Now, there is only one driver ahead of them on the list: Jeff Gordon. But the notable point is that SVG has achieved this feat in only his second full-time year in the Cup Series, which is beyond commendable.

After the Trackhouse Racing driver's win, a fan on Reddit asked whether he should be in the NASCAR Hall of Fame conversation. If Shane van Gisbergen were to remain consistent, he could see his win tally double hereon, or more, by the time he meets one NASCAR HOF criterion, which requires drivers to participate in the Cup Series for 10 seasons or more.

With that as the backdrop, the fan wrote:

"If he ends up at like 15-20 road course wins but zero oval wins, does the committee put him in? Does he need oval success and/or a specific points finish at some point in his career? How do you factor in what he has done for the sport, including bringing it to a new region and causing drivers to relearn and adjust their own road course driving in an effort to keep up with him?"

This post on Reddit has now taken flight as NASCAR fans have begun giving their opinions about SVG potentially making it into the Hall of Fame. 

Fans weigh in on whether SVG will get into the NASCAR Hall of Fame

There was a lot of support for SVG in this Reddit discussion, considering his popularity. One fan referred to the Jeff Gordon road course record that is just inches away from SVG, writing:

"If he breaks Gordons record I'm pretty sure he is getting in, I see nothing even remotely stopping him from these road course wins, he is just that good."

Another highlighted how SVG brought a certain importance to road course races, adding:

"I think right now SVG's lasting impact will be he got the cup field to take road racing much more seriously. Guys who used to look at these races as washes just decided fully to decide to learn them in and out and I think it'll make the competition better since SVG is a big rabbit to chase and surpass now. but also his career isn't done yet so I can't say hall of famer at this rate. to me the HOF is your lasting impact in the series that isn't just counted in wins so we gotta see."

While another fan emphasized that a Hall of Fame honor should be exclusive and not just decided by wins, they felt SVG played a larger role in modern NASCAR.

"Idk y but I feel we should make the hall of fame more exclusive, it's absurd to see drivers with 15-20 wins and little to no impact getting inducted. I feel 25-35+ wins and big impact/popularity should be the criteria. Which I feel SVG can pull off," they shared.

Another pointed out that the Kiwi driver might be able to rack up nearly 25-30 wins by the time he is done in NASCAR and that he has a huge impact on the sport. They wrote:

"Yes, if he continues at this pace. He should be able to get around 20-25 cup wins which puts him well within the area where drivers are considered for the HOF. Not to mention he’ll probably rack up more O’Reilly wins too. Also, it’s not just about stats. It’s about the influence and impact on the sport."

Elaborating on how SVG has become the core of NASCAR's road course racing evolution, they added:

"Shane joining the sport has been a massive story and transformed Road Course racing. It’s forced the entire field to step their game up. We’ve never seen a road course specialist be this dominant when coming over from another form of racing. NASCAR has seen a sort of road course revolution from 2018-present with schedule changes and new tracks. You can’t tell the story of that without SVG."

What do you think about this debate and SVG's place among NASCAR greats? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Chionia Libania Colaco

Edited by

Yash Kotak