On Sunday, only one sentiment ran through the garage after the Grant Park 220 in Chicago – appreciation. Appreciation for three-time Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen, who claimed victory in the first-ever Street Race in his NASCAR debut. If there is one NASCAR driver who can relate to winning in a series outside his primary one, it is Kyle Larson, The 2021 Cup Series champion, who is regarded as one of the most versatile drivers to ever race at this level, was enthralled by van Gisbergen’s performance.
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The Kiwi’s win, which was the first time in 50 years that a driver won on his Cup Series debut, also raised a key question – can any driver from NASCAR win in the Supercars Championship?
Kyle Larson hails Shane van Gisbergen after epic Chicago performance
After the race, the California native said, “(Shane van Gisbergen) put on a show and it was cool to see, and I think when a guy like that can come in and kick your ass at your own game, it shows that we all have room to improve. I’m curious what he thinks about us. He obviously passed a lot of us, so I’m curious if he thinks we all suck or if we could actually like compete, if we weren’t really that bad. We come from a different background than him, but it was great to see, and I hope the fans enjoyed it.”
Larson’s teammate Chase Elliott was also impressed by the events in the race, saying, “I don’t want to speak for everybody else, but he made me look bad, and I kind of think the rest of us, too. He’s going to go home and tell all of his friends how bad we are.”
To go to another series and win races is one thing common between Larson and van Hisbergen. The #5 has proved that he can win on any surface in a race car and in fact, announced recently that he will race in the Indy 500 in 2024.
NASCAR fans believe Kyle Larson can win in Supercars Championship
NASCAR on NBC asked fans on Twitter which driver could actually go and win in the Supercars Championship and return van Gisbergen’s favor. Unsurprisingly, the answer was Kyle Larson.
Larson would have the best chance out of the bunch not saying the rest suck but he can literally drive the wheels off of anything
— Dennis Ansman (@AnsmanDennis) July 4, 2023
I think kyle larson would be the guy, he can jump in almost anything and be competitive.
— Kyle Markowitz (@IAMKM85) July 3, 2023
@KyleLarsonRacin would have the best chance he can drive and win in anything with a motor.
— Mike Parker (@HandlebarzLures) July 4, 2023
Larson, he can and will drive anything!
— Mike Scherer (@Scherer6103Mike) July 4, 2023
The responses came in line with what three-time champion Tony Stewart said about Larson, “The incredible thing about Kyle is that most drivers have to really think about what they’re doing as they do it. Kyle? He’s plug and play, man. You just plug him in the car, send him off and he’ll figure it out very naturally. In an era where technology is better, the competition is much closer than its ever been, and for him to dominate in so many different cars, that’s hard to do.”
Only time will tell if Larson does indeed take a dive in the Kiwi’s backyard. Before that, he has his eyes on a second Cup Series title.
