Shane van Gisbergen, after winning 3 races so far in the season, has already become one of the favorites amongst the NASCAR fraternity. Originally from New Zealand, the former V8 Supercars champion ventured to the United States aiming to carve out a successful NASCAR career.
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Despite his rapid ascent, adapting to the entrenched practices of the US racing scene has been a challenge for the Kiwi. This was highlighted during a NASCAR race from earlier this season where he was captured requesting his spotter to communicate distances in car lengths instead of ‘feet.’
The 35-year-old driver’s integration into the local racing culture was audibly illustrated by his spotter when he was overheard over the radio providing strategic updates and remarking, “The #12 closing by half behind tighter in front of you, now. #12 still two foot off you in the back,” in typical NASCAR jargon.
The metric system has many fans.@shanevg97 is one of them. 😂 pic.twitter.com/F7umdIn5iH
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) October 4, 2024
During a check-in soon after, SVG responded to a query about how his car performed, “Yeah, it moves around a bit when I got cars of the either end.” He also made a point to emphasize, “Keep talking in car lengths and how far off I got. No idea what a foot is.”
NASCAR fans backed the Kiwi driver, saying, “Actually, only in the USA they do not use the measurements we all do worldwide.” Another fan who supported the standard metric system said, “i lowkey stan the metric system too it’s just so much easier, like why do we gotta make things complicated with inches and feet.”
One said that it’s the spotter’s responsibility to take care of these things: “Most spotters, at least the good ones, already talk in car lengths, not feet, ‘half off’ ‘one back’ ‘one and a half back’, etc. At least from the ones I regularly listen to.” Another fan said that the majority of the world is a fan of the metric system, commenting, “98% of the world that is lmao.”
The confusion stems from the prevalent use of the metric system in Gisbergen’s native Australia and much of the world, contrasting with the imperial measurements used in America. He suggested a shift to using ‘car lengths’ as a measurement unit to bridge this understanding gap, underlining the practical challenges international drivers often face in NASCAR.
SVG penalized after Kansas outing
Starting from P22, the Trackhouse Racing-affiliated driver clawed his way up to finish P8 in Kansas last weekend after climbing from P24 at the end of Stage 1 and P20 in Stage 2, thereby securing 29 points. Post-race inspections, however, uncovered a loose lug nut on his car, prompting NASCAR to issue the penalty after his Xfinity appearance.
Turning his focus forward, Gisbergen is getting ready for his next challenge at Talladega Superspeedway, where he last competed in the Ag-Pro 300 in April, finishing 22nd. During a recent press interaction, he shared his anticipation for the upcoming race, remarking,
“Talladega in the Cup car this weekend is going to be epic! I raced there for the first time earlier this season, and it was really cool to get the feel for superspeedway racing, we even led a couple of laps which was awesome.”
With the final elimination race for the Round of 12 looming at the Charlotte Road Course, Gisbergen will have a chance to gain significant points at Talladega and potentially win at Charlotte to propel him into the Round of 8.
