Shane van Gisbergen, one of the racers who genuinely thrived under the full throttle of the NASCAR season, found himself at the center of intrigue. Many raised eyebrows at Kaulig Racing’s decision to slot him into the NASCAR Xfinity Series, especially given his prowess on the road courses of NASCAR’s Cup Series in the Next Gen cars which closely resemble the V8 Supercars he mastered back home.
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Yet, as the season drew to a close, van Gisbergen openly embraced the challenge, admitting his delight in gaining substantial oval track exposure with the Xfinity cars. Despite the novelty of the tracks, car specs, and packed schedule, he adapted swiftly, clinching three victories and securing a 12th-place season finish in his inaugural year.
Addressing his transition to NASCAR’s packed race calendar, he remarked, “That’s something I tried to do the last few years was race as much as I could you know we didn’t really race enough in the V8s. And yeah getting to race every week was awesome…”
He added, “You could prepare straight away and every Monday or Tuesday and yeah as long as you’re having fun it was good. We had a couple of rough weeks in a row and it gets hard to be motivated but you need to get the momentum going which is hard because every single week is a different track.”
“Like there’s never the same type of track every week. So… It’s hard to get that momentum going because the challenges are so variable. It’s pretty cool.”
SVG concluded his first-ever NASCAR Xfinity season with impressive stats, securing seven top-5 finishes, ten top-10 finishes, and clinching three poles. As the next season gears up, he’s set to escalate his challenge, joining the big boys of the NASCAR Cup Series piloting the #88 Chevy for the Trackhouse Racing team.
Gisbergen is crafting a unique off-season for himself
While Kyle Larson is hitting the dirt tracks and Chase Briscoe has opted to take a break for family time, SVG is adding a personal touch to his preparations by constructing a racetrack right in his own backyard.
“I might have done some cheeky laps this morning in the snow that was a bit fun. So, yeah I got a brought some brought some ship, and made a fun little track which is cool,” he remarked.
Moreover, he revealed that his off-season is bustling with new beginnings as Trackhouse Racing broadens its team, bringing on board around 30 new faces. He detailed, that half of the new recruits started a few weeks back and the rest this Monday, so he’s also been proactive in syncing with them and his crew chief, Steven Doran. He also confessed to engaging in simulator sessions to gel with the team.
