2-Headed Monster: Is Shane van Gisbergen the Greatest Foreign-Born Driver in NASCAR History?

Shane van Gisbergen made history last Sunday (July 6) in the streets of Chicago, as he became the first foreign-born driver to score three victories in the NASCAR Cup Series.

He’s the first Cup rookie since Denny Hamlin (2006) to score multiple wins in his first full-time season, and he’s the fastest driver to reach three Cup wins — which he accomplished in 33 starts — since Jimmie Johnson in 2002.

With three Cup wins and four NASCAR Xfinity Series wins, SVG has also tied Daniel Suarez and Marcos Ambrose to become the winningest foreign-born driver across NASCAR’s top three series.

In the two years and eight days that have passed since his sensational Cup debut triumph, has SVG cemented himself as NASCAR’s greatest talent hailing from outside the United States? Or does that title belong to someone else?

Yes, and He’s Only Getting Started

Shane van Gisbergen is the winningest Cup driver from outside the United States, and with a half-dozen road and street courses on the schedule for the foreseeable future, he is poised to significantly gap the rest of his competition.

It was clear from the moment SVG won his Cup debut that he would be a force on the left- and right-hand turns if he decided to race full time in NASCAR, and he has already established himself as the driver to beat on road courses in his first full-time Cup campaign.

He ran away from the competition at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez last month, winning by over 16 seconds for the Cup Series’ largest margin of victory since 2009. He swept last weekend in Chicago and has the metaphorical keys to the city with four victories in his five starts between Cup and Xfinity on the street course.

The scariest part about SVG, at least to the rest of his competition, is that he only continues to get better with experience. Near-wins at Watkins Glen International last fall and Circuit of the Americas this spring were followed up with the absurdly dominant performances in Mexico City and Chicago, and with three road courses left on the 2025 Cup schedule, there’s a realistic possibility for SVG to double his Cup win total before the calendar turns to 2026.

The weakness of SVG’s pedigree, of course, is ovals. He hasn’t posted a single top 10 on an oval in a Cup car, and while he has a best oval finish of third in Xfinity, he hasn’t ever been in position to win one. That’s a stark contrast compared to Suarez — who has won on ovals — and Juan Pablo Montoya and Ambrose, who came oh so close to winning multiple.

But SVG’s progress on ovals in Cup, while slow, is noticeable. He began the season running almost dead last on them, and in half a year, he’s picked up his average running position by 10 spots and is starting to score top 20s on a semi-frequent basis. Eventually those top 20s will turn into top 15s and top 10s, and sure enough he’ll be knocking on the door for more soon after.

Of course, some of these statements deal with hypotheticals. But when looking strictly at NASCAR resumes, SVG is already the most decorated foreign-born driver in NASCAR’s highest level. And that record, that legend and that legacy will only continue to grow as time marches on.

-Stephen Stumpf

No, Because We Can’t Forget About JPM

There’s no doubt about it, Shane van Gisbergen has taken the NASCAR world by storm. 

SVG has been racking up wins since his historic triumph at the Chicago Street Race back in 2023, putting him in a three-way tie for the most NASCAR national series wins by a foreign-born driver.

Many are asking, is SVG the best non-American-born driver the sport has ever seen?

Let’s pump the brakes a little here. So many who were remembered already forgotten. 

For those fans who have been around a while, the name Juan Pablo Montoya rings a bell. For those new to the party, allow me to introduce you to one of the greatest wheelmen in motorsports history. 

Montoya found success in every car he ever set foot in. A two-time Indianapolis 500 winner, seven-time winner in Formula 1 and yes, two wins in the NASCAR Cup series, just to name a few of his long list of accolades.

Now, SVG has already passed Montoya in wins, so he does have a leg up in that category. But it’s important to note the eras in which these two drivers were in the sport. On one hand, you have SVG, who comes over from Supercars in Australia to a brand new, similarly modeled, purpose-built road course car. He’s picked up two wins at a street course, something he’s made a career of racing on while the entire rest of the Cup Series field had never set foot on one until Chicago in 2023. 

SVG also races during an era where road racing is a prominent part of the Cup Series schedule, with six road and street courses featured on the 2025 calendar.

In contrast, Montoya only ever had two opportunities to put his road skills on full display, and it was the same two tracks that Cup had been visiting and taking notes on for decades: Watkins Glen and Sonoma. 

Not to mention, Montoya raced during the Car of Tomorrow and Gen 6 eras of the sport in cars far less suited for road course racing and more in the wheelhouse of the oval racers that made up the field, similar to that of the NASCAR Xfinity Series car today. Had Montoya raced this schedule, with this car in his prime, who knows how many wins he racks up in his career.

Road course racing aside, there is one key factor that sets Montoya apart from SVG at this time, and that’s skill on traditional ovals. Say what you want about his win total, but Montoya was often a factor on the oval side of the sport, coming oh so close to that first oval win so many times. 

Races like the Brickyard 400 in 2009 and Dover in 2013 come to mind as moments when Montoya could see the win in front of him before watching it slip away. All while driving for Chip Ganassi Racing, who at the time was far from a top-tier team in the sport. 

Now, Trackhouse has been no powerhouse either, but they’ve had plenty of success with Ross Chastain over the past three seasons. SVG’s rookie season in Cup has been lackluster outside of two road course wins in Chicago and Mexico, and he has been a complete non-factor on the ovals so far. 

His Cup career is still young so there’s time for improvement, but until we see that improvement, JPM has the upper hand. For that reason, it’s still way too early to call SVG the greatest non-American born driver in the sport’s history. 

-Chase Folsom