DARLINGTON, S.C.: Just past the first quarter of his inaugural NASCAR Xfinity Series season, Shane van Gisbergen enters Saturday’s race at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway looking to master one of the toughest tracks on the NASCAR circuit while his Xfinity Series Playoff dreams alive.
van Gisbergen, the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series winner at the Chicago Street Course last July, invaded the Xfinity Series scene earlier this year in a collaborative effort between Kaulig Racing and Trackhouse Racing. The goal was to not only give the New Zealander plenty of seat time but also prepare him for what many expect to be a full NASCAR Cup Series program in 2025.
In just the second race of the season at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway, van Gisbergen saved fuel and finished third. With 10 races in the books, he has earned just one additional top-10 run at Phoenix (Ariz.) Raceway in March. van Gisbergen contended for the win on the road course at Circuit of the Americas but lost the lead in a horrendous battle with Austin Hill and Kyle Larson. Initially, van Gisbergen finished on the podium but was later handed a 30-second race penalty for short-cutting one of the turns at the famous Austin, Texas, road course.
In the series’ most recent race at Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway, van Gisbergen progressed from his 31st-place starting position to land 18th at the checkered flag.
With an average finish of 16.9 entering Saturday’s Crown Royal Purple Bag Project 200, the NXS rookie driver continues to learn. As he takes on challenging tracks such as Darlington, van Gisberben hopes to inch his No. 97 Kaulig Racing team closer to Playoff contention.
“Some things are different, like I really struggled at the moment with the skew of the cars,” van Gisbergen said Friday afternoon at Darlington Raceway. “So, when the car lands in the corner, how the diff kind of flexes and the whole car yours out. And like that’s 30 years of racing for me telling me that the car’s spinning out, you know, my bum is telling me that I’m about to crash and I’m facing the infield, but you know, the side force of the car holds it in.”
The driver has plenty of resources at his disposal. van Gisbergen has weekly calls with former Cup driver and fellow Super Cars star Marcos Ambrose. Under the Trackhouse Racing roof, he relies on the advice of his teammate Ross Chastain. Chastain has helped him understand what he is feeling is normal.
“So, I’m still learning that the car’s not sliding and the hand of God as Ross is telling me, it’s stopping me from spinning out,” van Gisbergen said. “It’s one of the craziest things to just ignore that you haven’t a big spin, but you’re not. So getting used to that feeling and understanding how these tires work. They’re very different. How they come on, and the pressures they run here.”
So far in the first half of the Xfinity Series season, van Gisbergen admitted that he has taken it conservative but he expects to pick up the pace considerably when he returns to tracks for the second time in 2024.
“So yeah, it’s just every week, and I’m pretty conservative, I guess, with my racing, and it always takes me a while, I’m normally coming good by the third stage,” he added. “But you know, it’s too late by then. So definitely when we get back to tracks, I know. Hopefully, I’m quick from the get-go.”
With the tracks of Portland International Raceway and Sonoma Raceway on deck, van Gisbergen, considered one of the top road course specialists in motorsports, is well aware that a win will vault him into the Playoffs.
For now, though, he hasn’t paid much attention to points. van Gisbergen is just trying to perform his best behind the wheel.
“I haven’t really looked at the points too much,” van Gisbergen continued. “But yeah, obviously, you want to make the Playoffs, and road courses are my best shot with that. But being able to point my way in would be amazing as well.
“But yeah, I think my position in 15th is probably better than my pace at the moment. That’s just from, as I said, being consistent and finishing all the laps.
“But yeah, hopefully, that helps me later on. And we can get closer to pointing our way in and you know, if we win a race, we’ll be in as well. But, yeah, as I say, I don’t really have expectations or a goal for myself, I just want to keep learning and keep getting better and, you know, do the right thing. So that gets me in a seat in the Cup Series next year.”
While the Playoffs are still months away and it’s at the back of his mind, van Gisbergen is focused on doing his job and letting the race pan out. He hopes when the Playoffs arrive in September at Kansas Speedway – he’s sitting in the Round of 12.
“Yeah, we all want to be in there,” he explained. “I think that’s every driver’s goal. Hopefully, by the end of the year, I will be semi-competitive on the ovals and can try to progress through, but yeah, that’s a long way away still. But yeah, try and get in there.”
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