## Can You Win If You're Only Good At Road Courses?

Shane van Gisbergen is a dominant force on NASCAR's road courses, racking up four wins in 2025 and leaving other drivers struggling to keep pace. His success has sparked debate within the sport – is his dominance good for NASCAR or detrimental?


**A Texting Controversy Ignites Debate**
Kevin Harvick, during his popular podcast "Happy Hour," revealed a text exchange with Clint Bowyer that touched on this very issue. Bowyer questioned what NASCAR should do about van Gisbergen's road course prowess, setting off a heated discussion.

"The interesting debate is... [Clint] Bowyer texted me, 'I don’t know if I like this,'" Harvick stated. "[SVG] coming in here and winning all the road course races and having a road course ringer, which is exactly what Justin Marks set out to do. You’re locking yourself in to having four, five, six — however many races are on the schedule of these road courses with somebody like SVG."


**Harvick: Is It Unfair?**
Harvick drew parallels between van Gisbergen's success and his own achievements, noting that he once won nine races in a season. "Let’s just look back. I won nine races in a season. Is it unfair that I won nine races in a season? Is it unfair that he’s going to win at least four? He’s already won four, could win five," Harvick questioned. “Does it make it different because he’s a road course guy on road courses winning? Does it make it any different from being a great season?”

**Genius Move or Problem For NASCAR?**
Harvick ultimately views van Gisbergen's dominance as a result of Trackhouse owner Justin Marks' strategic genius. 


“I think the group’s doing a good job, but he doesn’t have the fastest pit crew. They got the tires tight, but they weren’t as fast as the guys. He lost a couple spots on the pit stops that he had," Harvick explained. “But I think that this type of situation is thinking outside of the box… Justin Marks, he looks like a genius."


**Will The Dominance Continue?**
While van Gisbergen's road course reign seems secure for now, it remains to be seen if he can maintain his dominance throughout the entire season. 


The next road course race on the NASCAR schedule is the ROVAL on October 5th. Only then will we know if van Gisbergen’s success continues as he battles for the championship title.






## Can You Win If You're Only Good At Road Courses?

Shane van Gisbergen is a dominant force on NASCAR's road courses, racking up four wins in 2025 and leaving 

Kevin Harvick steps into heated debate on Shane van Gisberge

Kevin Harvick steps into heated debate on Shane van Gisbergen, NASCAR road courses

## Hill's Crash At Watkins Glen Deemed 'Racing Incident'

**NASCAR Officials Say No Penalty Expected for Austin Hill**

Elton Sawyer, NASCAR's senior vice president of competition, stated Tuesday that there are currently no plans to penalize Austin Hill for the wreck involving Michael McDowell during Saturday's Xfinity Series race at Watkins Glen International.  

Sawyer characterized the incident as a racing mishap, acknowledging that some drivers made questionable decisions over the weekend. 

“We don’t see anything at this time,” Sawyer said on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “I think all of those incidents this past weekend — we look at them, we start on Monday looking at all the data and even situations that have not been viewed by our audience and even teams. We take a much deeper dive into that and what I would say to this past weekend, there was some decisions made that I’m sure today and yesterday that drivers would look back on — hard racing, but probably some decisions that they look back on as not any intentional or malicious intent, but I do believe there was some bad decisions that were made.  
“But that happens in racing from time to time. We’ve all been there and seen it. We’ll review all of that again, but I don’t see anything at this time that would rise to the level of any kind of points or suspension or money or anything. Maybe some conversations, but I don’t see anything deeper than that.”

**A Controversial Turn for Hill**

Hill, returning from a one-race suspension, found himself in another controversy. Battling McDowell for second place in Stage 3, Hill moved to the inside of his left quarter panel. The two cars collided, sending McDowell into the wall. A chain reaction ensued, bringing out the red flag and involving 16 cars total.

Hill insisted after the race that he did not intentionally wreck McDowell.  

“Just two guys going for it. Nothing malicious, as much as everybody wants to sit there and try to make it more than it is. It was just two guys racing it out,” Hill said. “I was trying to get by the 88 [Connor Zilisch] as quick as I could because the 88 was driving away from us and thought that we could maybe have a shot at racing with him and racing for the win there. Had a massive run off the Carousel. I kind of thought I was trying to catch [McDowell] off guard and get to his left side.
“The grass was coming up in front of us. I had to get to the right. I was kind of hoping he was going to move to the right and kind of give me some room, and it just didn’t happen.” 

Hill finished fourth at Watkins Glen, while McDowell, making his first Xfinity start since 2016, placed 25th.




## Hill's Crash At Watkins Glen Deemed 'Racing Incident'

**NASCAR Officials Say No Penalty Expected for Austin Hill**

Elton Sawyer, NASCAR's senior vice presi

NASCAR’s Elton Sawyer reveals likelihood of Austin Hill pena

NASCAR’s Elton Sawyer reveals likelihood of Austin Hill penalty after incident with Michael McDowell at Watkins Glen

## Mayer's Momentum: Breakout Win Sets Sights on Cup Series

Sam Mayer finally broke through for his first win of the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, sparking attention from veteran driver Denny Hamlin. The victory wasn't just any win - it was Mayer's first with Haas Factory Team, the organization's first win this year, and the first Ford triumph in the series this season.  This milestone also cemented his spot in the playoffs, a position he was already on track to secure.

**Hamlin Praises Mayer's Transition**

On his podcast "Actions Detrimental," Hamlin lauded Mayer for making a successful switch from JR Motorsports. "Certainly you don’t think the equipment is quite as good," Hamlin said, acknowledging the perceived gap in performance between the teams.  "In Xfinity, it’s tough because I’m not in the trenches there, I don’t know all the details of it. But it seems like Sam’s been doing a really good job lately of getting good finishes. Obviously, he won some road course races with JR [Motorsports] over the last few years. He’s winning on ovals, he’s doing all the good things."

Hamlin added, "You know, we had discussions about Sam, um, I don’t know, probably early in the year, where I think he was probably doing something dumb, and it was like, and then he was talking about how people weren’t looking at him to move up, and we were like, well that’s why. As long as he keeps doing things like this, certainly he’s doing a lot of good things. He was fast all weekend. Wasn’t by accident by any means.”

**Mayer's Road to the Cup Series**

Last year, Mayer voiced his frustration at being passed over for Cup Series opportunities. While there were fewer new faces in the series this season due to a lot of shuffling and returning veterans, Mayer, still just 22 years old, continues to demonstrate his talent. His winning streak stretches back to his time in the ARCA East Series and even the CARS Tour.

Though  a Cup Series ride might be out of reach for now with limited "Silly Season" movement, the 2026 season holds many unknowns that could benefit a driver like Mayer - if the right opportunity presents itself.




## Mayer's Momentum: Breakout Win Sets Sights on Cup Series

Sam Mayer finally broke through for his first win of the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, sparkin

#Nascar

Kevin Harvick steps into heated debate on Shane van Gisbergen, NASCAR road courses

NASCAR’s Elton Sawyer reveals likelihood of Austin Hill penalty after incident with Michael McDowell at Watkins Glen

Denny Hamlin reacts to Sam Mayer, Haas Factory NASCAR Xfinity win at Iowa