For Shane van Gisbergen, the Chicago Street Race last year was one to remember. For William Byron, not so much. The Hendrick Motorsports star went into the wall at one point during the race, causing a huge pile-up. While he finished the race in a commendable P13, it was far from his expectations.
Advertisement
The Kiwi dominated and won his first-ever NASCAR start, taking everyone by surprise. Speaking about the event, Byron could not help but compare it to the cult-classic movie, Talladega Nights. The Hendrick Motorsports star has had a year to prepare for the race now and will be looking for a better result. However, he acknowledged that there is still a long way to go before he can run as well on street courses as his Kiwi counterpart.
Back in Chicago! 😀 pic.twitter.com/oBUyOFywJa
— Shane van Gisbergen (@shanevg97) July 5, 2024
“Definitely some work to do on the street courses to be as good as he is. He’s using the clutch, doing all these things. It felt like Talladega Nights, like a guy comes in and just dominates,” he said during a pre-race press conference.
SVG has already earned two road course wins in the NASCAR Xfinity Series during his debut full-time season as well. However, the Supercars champion expects competition to be stiffer than last year as the sport heads to ‘The Windy City’ once again this season.
Shane van Gisbergen wary of tough competition in Chicago
The Chicago Street Course was something brand new for the drivers last season. With the rain coming down hard, most people did not know what to expect. Things are a lot different this year. There’s no forecast of rain and teams have had a year to prepare with the data they collected in 2023. As per SVG, that will allow several more racers to drive up the field and challenge for the win.
“There’s more guys with data. More guys will have better setups learning what they learnt last year. I think there’s going to be a big chance to be 10 or 15 guys…that’s the best thing I find about NASCAR, it’s not the same people every week,” he said in a pre-race media interaction.
SVG will also have a lot of data from last year’s win. His team will also try to get the best setup possible. Trackhouse Racing has only won once this year and the Chicago Street Race gives them a golden chance to improve that tally.
