Apprehensive of Failure, SVG Admits Inferiority to NASCAR Drivers Ahead of Oval Debut

Last month, the defending Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen shocked the world of motorsport. In his first-ever Cup Series race—the Grant Park 220 at the Chicago Street Course—not only did he win but also dominated the rest of the field in the process. That performance stands testament to just how good the Supercars champion is. Now he is back again in NASCAR, competing on another road course. This time, it is the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Ahead of the Cup Series race, SVG also took part in the Truck Series race at the Indianapolis Raceway Park to gain his first experience on an oval track. The Kiwi has never raced competitively before on an oval and many have suggested that getting used to that will be a challenge. Just before debuting on the oval, the Kiwi appeared in an interview to talk about his expectations from the Indianapolis weekend. 

Indianapolis won’t be the cakewalk Chicago was for Shane van Gisbergen

In an interview with Quad Lock, SVG was asked about the race weekend where he will be competing in not one, but two races. He mentioned, “Obviously fast forward to now and you found out that you’re going to race on an oval this weekend and then racing on the Indy road course so I guess, what are your thoughts on running the truck series, your first oval race?”

SVG said that the full-time NASCAR drivers have an advantage over him at Indianapolis it was a track that “everyone had done for the past couple of years.” However, he also mentioned that the expectations won’t be as high in the Truck Series race as it was going to be the first time he would race on an oval track.

“Yeah, I guess people’s expectations will be high for one but not the other so it’s kind of good in some ways. It’s gonna be tough jumping back into that Cup Series after winning the first one but I think it’ll be difficult because it’s a track everyone’s done for the last couple of years and a lot more open and flowing and watching the race the last couple of years, it’s just crazy,” the Kiwi said.

“Got the restarts and the way they just move each other out of the way so I’m sure I’ll be in for it a bit but yeah it should be a bit of fun,” he added.

It turns out that SVG was approached very last minute for the Truck Series race. While speaking about his first oval experience, SVG revealed that he was approached on the very same day the race was scheduled to take place.

“Then on the Friday night beforehand, I got rung up to see if I wanted to do the truck race so it’d be cool. It’s on Indianapolis Raceway Park. It’s a little oval down the road so yeah, I got to do my first oval race,” SVG said.

Considering that it was his first oval race and how little time he had to prepare, SVG did a decent job in the truck race, despite not having the best qualifying, where he finished 28th.

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SVG talks about his NASCAR oval experience after finishing in the Top 20

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Despite starting 28th, SVG was able to gain spots and finished 19th. After the race in the Truck Series, the Kiwi realized that there was a lot for him to learn on the ovals and that it is not going to be as comfortable as the road courses.

“I think I just have to do everything. These tracks are obviously very difficult, but it is quite slow and multi-grooved, whereas other tracks, where you fix the one,” the Kiwi said.

While his main focus is on Sunday for the Cup Series race, SVG certainly did not take the Truck Series race lightly. He is slated to join NASCAR as a full-time Cup Series driver and getting to understand oval tracks is vital.

“So many different ways of racing here, so I got a lot to learn I need to try all different cars, all different types of ovals. It’s gonna be a huge learning curve,” he added.

He might not have had that memorable a result in the Truck Series race, but SVG will be on a road course on Sunday for the Cup Series. That is the kind of track he thrives on and if all goes to plan, we might just see another Shane van Gisbergen masterclass.

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