A lot of things went wrong for Kyle Busch last season. His spiraling stats in the NASCAR Cup Series were at the top of his misery, as he broke a 19-year glorious win streak. What is more? Busch did not luck out even outside NASCAR – he was initially booked for the Adelaide 500 event in November 2024. However, Busch pulled the pin on that apparently because of racing obligations in the U.S. However, who better to guide Busch to a possible Supercars event than Shane van Gisbergen?

The three-time Supercars champion currently makes jaws drop at NASCAR’s road course races. But as he prepares for a full-time season in 2025, SVG is also looking forward to helping his NASCAR rivals. That includes not just Kyle Busch, but also 2021 Cup Series Champion Kyle Larson.

Can SVG help Kyle Busch get his big break?

We all know that Kyle Busch kept himself busy during the NASCAR off-season. He helped his son take new milestones as Brexton Busch won his first Golden Driller at this year’s Tulsa Shootout. Busch himself won two heat races during this sprint car event – in the Winged and Non-Winged categories. Then the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion also made his Chili Bowl Nationals debut. Clinching podium finishes in two events, he ended his debut with a respectable 15th-place finish. Given that Busch is already showing sparks of glory in American sprint car racing, Shane van Gisbergen ardently wished for the veteran to visit his home series.

While discussing plans to pull in Supercars drivers like Will Brown and Brodie Kostecki to the NASCAR Xfinity Series, the Kiwi speedster also talked about the reverse situation. Kyle Busch was supposed to join Triple Eight Race Engineering in a Mobile X-backed Chevrolet Camaro in last year’s Adelaide 500. SVG regretted not being able to see Busch race: “I would have loved to see how Kyle Busch went last year in the Supercar. It would have been very difficult, but I’m sure if he took it seriously he would have done really well.” Then Gisbergen dropped his hopeful plea: “Hopefully that happens this year.”

Kyle Larson also entered the conversation. The 2021 Cup Series champion took home his third Chili Bowl Nationals trophy this year. What is more, he raced at the Perth Motorplex in Australia under his High Limit Racing series and won $100,000. So Shane van Gisbergen is excited to see Larson as well: “There’s talks actually Kyle Larson might go and do it.” Having a Supercars ace like SVG on their side might push both Larson and Kyle Busch to go to Australia this year. SVG added, “Yeah, I’d love to help them if they have any questions. I’d be really interested to see how they went.”

Like Shane van Gisbergen hails both Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson, the latter also bowed to his superior racing skills.

The respect flows both ways

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Well, NASCAR and Supercars have oceans of differences. While the make of the racecars is the most obvious – seating position, gearbox, suspension, and whatnot – the culture also varies. Shane van Gisbergen noted that during his first superspeedway Cup race at Talladega last year. When the Big One struck, SVG tried to back off. But Kyle Busch drove straight into the melee – and that made SVG’s jaws drop. Ultimately, the Kiwi racer tipped his hat to Busch, who accrued a few more points despite extraordinarily damaging his car.

Conversely, drivers hail Shane van Gisbergen for his ‘classy’ racing style. Chase Elliott heaped praises on SVG’s grand Chicago debut. “(In Chicago), I thought his drive was not only impressive, but very classy. You didn’t see him running over people. He didn’t run over people to win the race. I thought he did it the right way. That is very admirable. I think people like that deserve great opportunities.”

Similarly, Kyle Busch himself praised SVG for his sparkling win in Chicago and touted him as the top prospect prior to the Indy road course race in 2023. “(At Chicago) he had us all beat by probably six- to eight-tenths of a second a lap. I would say going into Indy we should all be within two- or three-tenths, but he’ll still be the best guy.” SVG finished the race in 10th place, furthering his road course prowess.

Kyle Larson also bowed to SVG as he teased his Supercars prospects. “Obviously I would not expect to run very good because Shane van Gisbergen, he came in [to NASCAR] and kicked all of our b—-. So I know these Australian racers and Supercars drivers are extremely good.” With the drivers saluting each other, we can expect nothing less than a blooming camaraderie. Would you like to see a crossover between SVG and NASCAR stars in the Supercars series?