A third, or 12 of 36 races, have been completed, and we are almost halfway to the September reset or cutoff.
At this point, Shane van Gisbergen is on pace to be in the top 16. He is currently in the top 16 after completing the first road course, and there will be two more road courses or high-points potential events prior to the cutoff. He is also improving on the ovals.
I don't think he will make the final top ten on points this year, but he still has to be considered as one of those drivers who is doing the most with the least. I am not sure of his ceiling on the ovals, but in all fairness, this is just his second season on them. The talent is obvious; the sky is still the limit, and Trackhouse as a team may be a bigger limitation than his current lack of experience.
I'm not sure of his contract status, but he should be on the short list for a top team. Those types of teams will already have drivers who are good enough to win a championship. If SVG ever gets to that level on the ovals, it would just be a huge bonus. He is already the road course master or as close to guaranteed wins as possible, and he would probably make the entire organization better on those tracks. It should be a no-brainer if he ever becomes available or shops around for a better ride.
Other stuff: The two biggest and most obvious surprises would be Tyler Reddick's dominance and HMS's struggles.
I think Reddick is legitimate; the proof is in the pudding. I don't think anyone saw it coming, but he has always had the talent, and he has the equipment. They are just making fewer mistakes; the chemistry just came together.
HMS isn't losing due to some bad breaks or bad luck; they simply don't have the speed. It's beyond just needing a few tweaks. Hocevar has the the talent and I don't think his success is much of surprise, but who would have ever thought that he would be performing better than Larson this deep into the season.