Livescore
Shane van Gisbergen’s world has turned upside down. Quite literally, in a geographic sense.
Just a year and a half ago, NASCAR’s Trackhouse Racing and co-owner Justin Marks introduced van Gisbergen to American stock-car fans at the inaugural Chicago street race — inviting the three-time Australian Supercars champ for a one-off visit to the other side of the world and, by the way, the other side of the cockpit.
The stars couldn’t have aligned any better. It was a tight street course, which suited van Gisbergen’s skill set. It was also an unfamiliar course to all of the NASCAR drivers, so there were no “home field” advantages that come with familiarity. Then it rained, and racing in the rain on a wet track might’ve been a culture shock to many, but not for the man known throughout the paddock as SVG.
He won the race and nothing has been the same ever since. With more and more road courses on NASCAR schedules, and an obvious road-racing ace suddenly interested in NASCAR — and vice versa — the wheels began turning and before long, Trackhouse had put together a deal.
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The team originally planned to cobble together a 2024 schedule involving a handful of races in various series, but it soon blossomed into a full-time Xfinity Series ride with a dozen Cup races included. He won three Xfinity races, all on road courses, over a six-race span in early summer, and his best Cup finish was a runner-up at Watkins Glen.
Along the way during his Cup ventures, he found himself in the biggest Cup Series crash in history, when more than two dozen cars got all or part of a “Big One” at Talladega.
This year, he graduates to the Cup Series full time as Trackhouse expands to three cars, adding a No. 88 Chevy to the roster — Trackhouse veterans Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez are his teammates. SVG starts his 2025 season sharing a Corvette in this weekend’s Rolex 24 at Daytona. He’s no stranger to the Rolex, having made six previous starts.
He arrived in Daytona Beach recently with the Rolex front and center, but talk also turned to his eventual return in February, the challenge that follows, and how his new home — north of Charlotte in Mooresville — differs from Australia and his native New Zealand.
Shane van Gisbergen had no NASCAR intentions in 2023
News-Journal: When you went to Chicago in 2023, was a NASCAR career even on your radar?
SVG: “The month or two before that race, I’d signed a contract to keep racing in Australia. So I had no intention of changing to NASCAR. It was just a one-off race, but it worked out.
“My life has done a complete 180, but it’s been very enjoyable, cool experiences, and it’s good to try something different.”
N-J: Not even a passing thought of trying NASCAR?
SVG: “No, none at all.”
N-J: Obvious question, but what’s been the biggest transition?
SVG: “Racing every week. And the ovals. The oval stuff is crazy. The short stuff I’m OK at, and the superspeedways, but the intermediates is ridiculous — the speeds they go and how the cars handle. The Cup car, on paper, should be better for me, but I’ll find out.”
N-J: Do you feel you’ve adapted to the day-to-day living here?
SVG: “The living stuff is OK. It’s a little different when you first move, but once you’re set up, it’s fine. And I spent the summer in New Zealand.”
N-J: That’s right, our winter is your summer back home.
SVG: “Yes, then I come back here and it’s terrible (weather). Wish I was back home a bit longer.”
Shane van Gisbergen ready for ‘epic’ atmosphere of Daytona 500
N-J: Your first Daytona 500 is coming up. How do you feel about that?
SVG: “I don’t try to get caught up in the hype of things like that. I remember watching it last year. Even though it was on a Monday, the atmosphere was epic. I try to not get overhyped, but it’ll be a pretty cool experience, I imagine.”
N-J: You did some “restrictor-plate” races on superspeedways last year. Thoughts on that form of racing?
SVG: “I don’t know. I feel like you’re a lamb to the slaughter, getting lined up, ready to be in a big crash. It’s fun at times, you know, when it’s four-wide. But you know it can go wrong in an instant and it won’t be fun.
“I got a big hit here (Daytona) in Xfinity, and it’s not that enjoyable. I was in the biggest crash ever (Talladega), but I got through it OK.”
N-J: By modern driver standards, you’re practically a giant. What’s your official height and weight?
SVG: “6-3, 215 or 220 pounds.”
N-J: Any advantages to being bigger than the others?
SVG: “No, it’s always a negative as a driver.”
N-J: From the outside, Trackhouse and Justin Marks seem like a good group to join. What’s Justin’s secret?
SVG: “Just the attitude to everything, how forward-thinking he is. When I did Chicago, it was supposed to be just one race. Then we did the next race at Indy, not long after. He said, ‘I can put something together for you. It’s mainly for ’25.’ But in ’24, I could do three Cup races and seven Xfinity races, with the promise of 2025.
“I believed in him. It turned into a full Xfinity season and 12 Cup races, which is way more than I expected. Then the commitment he made to go get another charter and build a whole team around the 88 and me.
“It inspires me as well. For me, it’s what I needed. It was becoming a bit stale in Australia. It was a good time in my life. Before I’m too old, I can go have a proper crack at something else.”
Any NASCAR Cup Series goals for SVG?
N-J: You became a fan favorite rather quickly.
SVG: “It’s been awesome. I feel in America, you can be yourself as well, say what you want.”
N-J: That’s not the case back home?
SVG: “No, you just get shut down. If Denny Hamlin was in Australia, he’d be kicked out. But here … he’s polarizing, but people accept it and love him for who he is. You couldn’t be like Denny in Australia, telling your opinion, which might be a harsh truth. People here accept you because you’re being yourself.”
N-J: What’s been the big adjustments from an Aussie Supercar to a NASCAR stock car?
SVG: “The NASCAR car doesn’t have any doors. No windows. It’s odd, feeling the air in the car. Being on the other side (of the cockpit) is probably the biggest difference. And the gearbox is different. It’s fine when it’s sequential. When it’s an H-pattern, it’s harder.”
N-J: Any goals for 2025 in NASCAR?
SVG: “Ending it with a smile on my face.”
N-J: Are you saying that hasn’t happened at times?
SVG: “Many.”
N-J: Would that be the years you didn’t win a bunch of races and a championship?
SVG: “No. Last year was one of the best years of my life and I finished 50th or something. But I had so much fun. You’re working with good people all of the time who just enjoy racing.”
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Shane van Gisbergen talks Daytona 500, NASCAR and Denny Hamlin | Q&A
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