Kyle Larson revealed back in January that official discussions about his Supercars debut at Adelaide had already begun. Australian motorsports fans could soon witness the famed driver burning rubber from behind a V8 engine in the Australian series. But would he be able to recreate what Shane van Gisbergen did in Chicago in 2023 in the NASCAR Cup Series? James Hinchcliffe doesn’t think so.
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In a recent interview, the former IndyCar Series driver said that racing disciplines are extremely specialized today and that Larson couldn’t just jump into a V8 Supercar with minimal practice and win. He also attributed Shane van Gisbergen’s debut victory in the streets of Chicago to his already-established road racing expertise and his competitors’ lack thereof.
In his words, “If you’re gonna give him [Larson] a half day of testing at Winton and then throw him to the mountain or any track against some of the best V8 Supercar drivers on the planet who have been doing it their whole careers… Yeah, like, no. He’s not going to win. I’m sorry. Nobody’s that good.”
He continued about van Gisbergen, “None of those guys had ever been on a street circuit before. That’s a huge advantage, right? The way the timing played out. There were a couple of things that sort of played into that.” Hinchcliffe brought these two opinions together and expressed that Larson would beat the V8 Supercar drivers if they raced on an oval track.
Larson does not think he can race very well in Supercars
Larson is considered the best driver of the current generation in several racing disciplines. Even comparisons with the best Formula 1 drivers like Max Verstappen aren’t uncommon. However, he hasn’t let this clout haze his perception of reality. He told Speedcafe, an Australian motorsports channel, that he wouldn’t be surprised to run last in Supercars.
“Obviously, I would not expect to run very good because Shane van Gisbergen, he came in [to NASCAR] and kicked all of our buts,” his admission came. “So I know these Australian racers and Supercars drivers are extremely good. So I would not be surprised to run last.” Modest words? It can’t be known until the day of his debut comes.
He said in Perth that discussions about his debut are underway, and nothing is set in stone yet. There have been plenty of occasions in the past when the achievability of a feat was considered impossible because “nobody is that good.” But Larson always is. It could only be a matter of time before he proves Hinchcliffe wrong.
