DAYTONA BEACH — Shane van Gisbergen’s meteoric rise from Australian road racing champion to NASCAR winner has required he learn seemingly the simplest and most fundamental aspect of oval racing.

“Turning left,” he deadpanned. “It’s difficult, for sure.”

The 36-year-old native of New Zealand similarly struggles to fathom that he has turned a one-off opportunity into five wins in 39 starts on the Cup Series, including four in 2025 to tie future Hall of Famer Denny Hamlin .

“It’s just amazing how it worked out,” van Gisbergen told the Orlando Sentinel this week. “Never planned to do more than one NASCAR race. It snowballed, and now we’re here.”

Van Gisbergen enters the the Coke Zero Sugar 400 Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway firmly in the playoffs as many veteran d

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