Motorsports team owners are always in search of whatever or whoever will make their cars faster and more competitive.
When Jeff Gordon arrived on the NASCAR scene in 1990, he didn’t immediately set the stock car world afire. But by 1994, the former USAC standout showed enough promise with Hendrick Motorsports that scouts scoured Midwest dirt tracks for the next Wonder Boy.
The latest hotbed for racing talent is half a world away in Australia and New Zealand. This weekend at Sonoma Raceway, three Australasia drivers will compete in the Cup and Xfinity Series—including Shane van Gisbergen. “SVG” scored back-to-back wins at Portland International Raceway and again on Saturday afternoon at the 1.99 mile road course in Sonoma.
Trackhouse Racing team owner Justin Marks is certainly a trendsetter. He clearly lived up to his genius status by recruiting van Gisbergen to drive at the Chicago Street Course last July, where the Auckland native stormed to win in his Cup debut. After winning his second Repco Supercars Championship title, Marks signed “SVG” to a development deal.
Still, van Gisbergen, 35, is not the first racer from down under to find success in the U.
For the last 24 years, Auckland’s Scott Dixon has amassed 58 wins and six titles during his tenure in IndyCar and CART. The 43-year-old Kiwi currently leads the IndyCar standings in his 23rd season with Ganassi Racing.
Fellow IndyCar champ Will Power came to CART full-time in 2006 with Team Australia. The 43-year-old from Toowoomba, Queensland moved to IndyCar two years later. Power joined Team Penske in 2010, where he has scored his 2014 title and 37 of his 39 victories.
In 2017, Roger Penske put his muscle behind Scott McLaughlin in the Supercars Championship Series. After four previous seasons on the tour, McLaughlin finished second in the standings and went on to win three consecutive titles. In 2021, Penske recruited the Christchurch, New Zealander to drive the No. 3 Chevrolet in IndyCar. McLaughlin, who turns 31 on Monday, has scored five wins and 13 podiums in his first three seasons.
On two wheels, Jett Lawrence continues to establish new records in Supercross and Motorcross. The 19-year-old from Landsborough, Australia clinched the 2023 450cc Motocross title after round nine and ended the season with an undefeated record of 22-0—the first rookie to accomplish the feat and first rider since James Stewart in 2008. In Supercross, not only did Lawrence become the first rookie to win in his 450cc debut (at Anaheim) but he joined an elite fraternity of only Jeremy McGrath and Ryan Dungey to ride off with the title in the freshman season. Lawrence also won the inaugural SuperMotocross Championship.
Tasmania’s Marcos Ambrose enjoyed success in both Cup and the Xfinity Series, scoring two victories on NASCAR’s top tour and five wins in the junior series. After eight seasons, however, Ambrose returned home.
So why has it taken NASCAR so long to re-embrace Aussie and Kiwi racers?
“I don’t know why,” van Gisbergen said. “NASCAR was quite big in that part of the world when Marcos was driving—and then it died off when he stopped. I don’t know why. I always wanted to try NASCAR one day, go there and then now it seems like the floodgates are open a bit, so that’s pretty good.”
Like Ambrose before him, SVG has heightened NASCAR’s visibility in Australia. Will Brown and Cam Waters, two of SVG’s fellow Australian Supercars drivers, will compete in Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350. Brown, who is driving the No. 33 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, was third on the speed chart in Happy Hour at Sonoma.
Although Brown had the fastest Chevy on Friday, an electrical issue during time trials dropped the 26-year-old Queenslander to 24th on the grid for Sunday. Despite the glitch with the ECU, the similarity between his Holden ride in Australia and the RCR-prepared Chevy has made Brown’s transition seamless. And van Gisbergen will spot for Brown on Sunday.
“I feel comfortable in the car,” Brown said. “There’s no drama…I’m just ready to race. Just a little bit disappointed with qualifying and what happened in it.”
Earlier this spring, Waters competed in two Craftsman Truck Series races with ThorSport Racing. The best result for the 29-year-old from Mildura, Victoria, was 19th at Kansas Speedway. Driving the No. 60 Roush Fenway Keselowski Ford was a struggle for Waters in practice. He was 35th overall but picked up the pace in qualifying. On Sunday, Waters rolls off 31st for his Cup Series debut.
“It was a lot of fun and super fast-paced,” Waters said. “On the first run, I was just trying to work out what kind of grip I had. Probably left a little bit on the table because we made some changes overnight and the car was different. We couldn’t get any more out of it on the last run, but I had so much fun.
“I’ll be starting right in the middle of the chaos, so I’ve got my work cut out for me. I’m sure it’s going to be pretty full-on. Hopefully, there is some passing and hopefully there’s a bit of tire deg and we can go forward.”
As quickly as van Gisbergen has acclimated to NASCAR it will be difficult for Brown and Waters to match his early success. Still, if the racers show promise, fans might have a new Thunder from Down Under to cheer for on Sundays.
Follow Lee Spencer on Twitter @CandiceSpencer or email her at: [email protected].
