Just a couple of weeks ago, NASCAR headed to Chicago for its first-ever street course race. Among other things, what really took people by storm that weekend was the fact that the race was not won by a regular NASCAR driver, but an outsider. It was the Australian V8 Supercars champion, Shane van Gisbergen, or SVG for short, who had claimed the victory.
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Ever since his marvelous triumph at the rain-soaked Chigaco Stree race, SVG has nearly become a household name among the NASCAR folks. Now with the Indy road course race coming up in a few weeks, the revered Kiwi is set to return with Project 91.
Meanwhile, awaiting the Supercars Championship driver’s return, Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently had a conversation with his co-host Mike Davis, where he seemed to have set rather high expectations from SVG for the upcoming race at the Brickyard.
Dale Earnhardt Jr believes SVG will do well in his second NASCAR run
Speaking on his podcast, Junior mentioned, “If he’s confirming he has plans to pursue NASCAR full-time ride, I think he’s already got an idea of who this is with. The pressure’s on. He needs to go to Indy and back it up.”
Further stating, “He needs to go to Indy, lead laps, and challenge for the win. If he runs fifth, that ain’t good enough to warrant all the effort that will have to take place to get him over here in that full-time deal. He will… have challenges. I don’t want to use the word struggle. But he’s going to be challenged at the ovals for a while. It just, I doubt it comes naturally.”
“So the ownership and team will manage some of that struggle. And that patience of waiting for the oval stuff to take. And if he’s going to go to all of the other road courses that we all know well and just be top five, is that enough?”
Junior then used the example of another driver who dominated the field in mid-tier equipment. He mentioned, “He’s going to go to the road courses and be damn hard to beat. Much like when we showed up at a road course, and Marcos Ambrose was one of the top dogs, in really mid-class equipment. I mean really mid-class at best.”
Shan Van Gisbergen headed for double duty for Indianapolis
Heading into the Indianapolis weekend, Gisbergen would not just be racing in the Cup Series, but also in the Truck Series. That’s right, while his chariot of choice in the Cup Series is the Project 91 car run by Ross Chastain’s boss, his Truck series debut will come with the Niece Motorsports team.
Although racing in two series in one weekend should not be a problem for the Kiwi, considering he has previously raced in doubleheaders back home. Instead, it will be the challenge of racing Trucks for the very first time. Speaking to the press about his Truck debut, SVG mentioned, “The weekend will certainly be a challenge. I’ve seen the Trucks race on television and know it’s very competitive and that I’ll have a lot to learn on a short track at IRP.”
Considering that Gisbergen has showcased an interest in driving in NASCAR come next season, it will be his performance in Indiana that can determine where he ends up. Meanwhile, expectations for him to win at the Indy road course remain fairly high among the general consensus.
