Yahoo Autos Shane Van Gisbergen Still Learning 'Overcomplicated' NASCAR Playoff Format
Shane Van Gisbergen made a name for himself in NASCAR by winning his debut Cup Series race on the streets of Chicago last season.
This year, Van Gisebergen is running the full NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule.
The driver is finding that NASCAR Playoff rules are a bit on the complicated side.
“Crazy, complicated” and “cool” are the words NASCAR Xfinity rookie Shane Van Gisbergen uses to describe the series playoff system, but the New Zealand native admits he doesn’t know how he will react to it in his inaugural season.
“I studied it last night (Monday) trying to understand how it works,” Van Gisbergen says. “The playoff system is crazy. It’s the most overcomplicated racing series I’ve been a part of, but I think it’s pretty cool. It’s great for the fans.
“One of my sponsors put out an article explaining the playoffs and how that all works. I had no idea how it works. It’s so complicated. So, I shared that on my pages and there’s people saying, ‘Oh, thanks, I didn’t know that’s how it worked.’ Everyone was reading it, learning with me. So, that’s pretty cool.”
NASCAR Xfinity Playoff Standings
Justin Allgaier 2,034
Cole Custer 2,028 (-6)
Austin Hill 2,025 (-9)
Chandler Smith 2,024 (-10)
Shane Van Gisbergen 2,017 (-17)
Jesse Love 2,013 (-21)
Sam Mayer 2,011 (-23)
Riley Herbst 2,011 (-24)
Sheldon Creed 2,007 (-27)
AJ Allmendinger 2,006 (-28)
Sammy Smith 2,001 (-33)
Parker Kligerman 1,998 (-36)
Van Gisbergen, who won three races this year all on road/street courses, enters the Xfinity Series playoffs opening round this weekend at Kansas Speedway as the fifth seed in the 12-driver field. Justin Allgaier, who has yet to win a Xfinity Series title is seeded first, while regular season champion and the defending series champion Cole Custer is the second seed.
Other drivers in the playoffs are Austin Hill, Chandler Smith, rookie Jesse Love, Sam Mayer, Riley Herbst, Sheldon Creed, A.J. Allmendinger, Sammy Smith and Parker Kligerman.
Van Gisbergen and Love are the only drivers making their playoff debut.
The first round in the playoffs is comprised of Kansas, Talladega and Charlotte’s Roval, while the Round of Eight is made up of Las Vegas, Homestead and Martinsville. The Roval has been reconfigured and Van Gisbergen believes that benefits him since his competitors will be learning the course as well. He also believes having Allmendinger, who’s undefeated at the Roval, as a teammate will be an asset.
However, since he’s never raced at Kansas, he plans to approach that event as he has other oval tracks this year, be conservative in the race’s first half, get comfortable with the track and then be more aggressive in the event’s last segment.
More to Superspeedways than Meets the Eye
Van Gisbergen said that as a fan he never understood the intricacies of superspeedway racing.
“When you watch a superspeedway race casually, it’s the most boring thing ever. It’s a good time to have a nap,” Van Gisbergen says. “But when you understand the racing and what’s happening, the fuel saving, the positioning, the stage points, seeing what’s going on, and then in the race itself, there’s some bits in the Cup side that can be dull, but, man, there’s just so much happening throughout the whole race. The track evolution, the cars, the placement, when you understand it, it’s a lot going on.
“I talk with my friends in New Zealand who are really into the racing now, and they watch it all, they understand the points, the adjustments in the pits, what goes into all the pit stops. The pit stops are an art in themselves, especially the five lug stuff, it’s pretty cool to see.
“There’s been cool amount of fans follow me over in Australia and New Zealand that really have no idea the finer details of this racing. It’s been cool to share that experience with them.”
