Within two years, Shane van Gisbergen has made his presence felt in NASCAR and has settled in the United States, at least for as long as his stock car journey lasts. Though he admits his father’s absence leaves him homesick, he found comfort in bringing along one of his pets from his Australian Supercars days, a companion that not only reminds him of good old familiar days but also keeps him grounded.
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On Instagram, alongside snapshots of race cars, tracks, legend cars, and victory moments, his pets take center stage. Fresh off his NASCAR Cup win at Watkins Glen, SVG followed tradition by appearing on NASCAR’s The Day After interview, where he was asked about his dog, Ronald, how he came into the family, and how he made the trip across the globe.
“So, we got him (at the) start of ’23 in Australia and had him. Got him that year. He was, I think, five-six months old when we got him. We were looking at getting a dog for a while, and then we didn’t plan to move to the States at that point. Got him and then we loved him and thought we can’t leave him behind, so we bought him with us,” SVG explained.
“He’s an amazing dog. He’s almost three now, but yeah, really cool. Take him to quite a few races, and that was the first time we had him in victory lane. So, really, really cool to have him there,” he continued.
As for his unusual name, SVG revealed it was his girlfriend, Jessica, who came up with it, saying she has a knack for giving their animals human names. He admitted it can be amusing to call them out, but insisted the names fit their personalities.
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Beyond Ronald, Gisbergen often shares pictures of his other dog as well, whose name is Steve, sometimes lounging in the back seat of the car, other times eagerly watching the road as SVG drives.
