Amid all the hustle and bustle after one successful race, hasn’t the Shane van Gisbergen bandwagon taken up too much speed? Perhaps. After winning at Chicago on his NASCAR Cup Series debut, SVG is returning for the Indy road course race this weekend both in Trucks and the Cup Series. While it is interesting to see SVG plan to race in NASCAR full-time come next year, things have been happening rather quickly.
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Not that anything is wrong with the expectations. SVG is the kind of driver who would blitz the grid no matter what car you place him in, including V8 Supercars, Rally racing, Drift racing, Open wheel racing.
Meanwhile, recently the Trackhouse Racing and Project 91 owner, Justin Marks told the media how SVG’s plan to race full-time next year is something that was supposedly too much to process for the time being.
Justin Marks doesn’t think SVG should jump into NASCAR Full time so soon
Speaking with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Marks stated, “I’m not of the opinion that anybody coming from a different discipline into the NASCAR Cup series should just jump right into the Cup Series full time. I just think it’d be a disservice to them and time is of the essence.”
“There’s so much that is very, very proprietary about this type of racing on the ovals. You know, it’s not just driving the car, it’s all the other stuff, it’s restart. It’s learning the air, it’s green flag pitstops off the banking. It’s learning your competitor’s personalities and how they’re going to race you when they’re going to race you that way.”
🇳🇿 Does it make sense for @shanevg97 to drive full time in the Cup Series next season?
🗣️ “I think jumping right in full time […] it’s just too much to process at one moment when you’re in the sweet spot of your career.”
More from @TeamTrackhouse owner @JustinMarksTH ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/eHU1kckJe0
— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) August 11, 2023
“It’s managing the politics in the garage. I mean, it’s a lot more than just driving the racecar. And when Shane came and drove at Chicago, everything was just sort of in his wheelhouse. I mean, he’s got experience on the street courses. The car was fast. He did a great job. He prepared well, all that stuff, but I mean, it was just very much his type of racing.”
Clearly, the Trackhouse Racing owner wants SVG to transition slowly to the Cup Series rather than just letting the Kiwi make the jump after a couple of races.
Marks believes SVG needs the experience on ovals first
Speaking further into the podcast, Marks added, “I mean, you need the experience I mean, you need to need to drive these Truck Races. You need to drive short tracks, you just need the experience. Jumping right in full time is just too it’s just too much to process at one moment when you’re in the sweet spot of your career.”
Perhaps Marks is correct in his judgment in this case, considering he was a racing driver before taking on the role of a team owner. Therefore, it would be wise to gain experience on the tracks he has no prior idea of, such as the ovals. After all, there’s a vast amount of technicality between each short track, intermediate, or Superspeedway.
