Is SVG the Real Deal or a One-Trick Pony?

Coming off his second consecutive NASCAR Xfinity Series win at Sonoma Raceway last weekend, Shane van Gisbergen finds himself in the top 10 in points, ahead of two JR Motorsports cars and only 17 points behind Parker Kligerman. Despite being a rookie in this series as well as the NASCAR Cup Series, van Gisbergen already has three wins in less than a year of exposure to NASCAR.

While his wins have all been on road courses, there’s no shortage of ovals coming up for him to learn on. Is SVG shaping up to be a legitimate title contender, or is the road course ringer just beating up on the competition? This week, Amy Henderson and Wyatt Watson heel toe their way through the topic in 2-Headed Monster.

SVG: Shane’s Very Good

Can you call Shane van Gisbergen the NASCAR Xfinity Series title favorite with 12 races to go before the playoffs begin?

Well, no.

But you can’t really call anyone else the favorite either, and van Gisbergen, with wins in the last two races, will be in the 12-driver playoff field when the series’ title run begins in September at Kansas Speedway. And he has a very real chance of winning the whole shebang.

Van Gisbergen has been exceptional on road courses, with the exception of Circuit of the Americas, where he led 20 laps before an on-track incident dropped him to 27th. The last two road course races ended with van Gisbergen in victory lane. He’s confident enough now that when Austin Hill tried to pinch him entering turn 2 and force him off-track, van Gisbergen not only held his ground but taunted Hill after the race.

His performance on ovals is not quite at the same level — yet. But he’s improving and has finished in the top 15 at seven of the 11 ovals the series has visited. He does need to start leading laps on the ovals; so far, he’s led just one, but his finishes are generally decent, and nine of the final dozen regular-season races are on ovals (10 including Pocono Raceway, but it’s not a traditional oval and actually races a lot like a road course, van Gisbergen’s wheelhouse).

There are already a few things that decidedly work in van Gisbergen’s favor once the playoffs start. First and foremost, the championship format means that if van Gisbergen (and also any driver in the hunt) can still be in the game in the season finale at Phoenix Raceway,…