How a Rivalry With Team Penske Tracking Back to Australia Pushed Shane Van Gisbergen for NASCAR

Ahead of the NASCAR Cup Series race at Indianapolis, Supercars champion Shane Van Gisbergen is one of the most talked-about racers in the world. And why wouldn’t he be? The Kiwi shocked the world when he defied the odds to win the Cup Series race in Chicago early in July. It came as a shock because SVG had never competed in a Cup Series race before. Not only did he win his NASCAR debut, but he also completely dominated the rest of the field in the process. Indianapolis might not be as comfortable as Chicago was, but it is a road course, and that is the kind of track where the Kiwi strives.

After his victory in Chicago, it seems certain that the Kiwi will make the switch to NASCAR in 2024. The only thing that is left to be decided is what team the Kiwi will be driving for. Right now, he is a part of Trackhouse Racing’s Project 91. But what inspired SVG to move to the States and try his hand at NASCAR? In a recent interview with NBC, the Kiwi revealed what pushed him to move to the States, and the answer is an old rival.

SVG’s old rival encouraged him to try his hand at American Motorsports

“A lot of people have said because you and Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske IndyCar driver come from the same country, and were both supercar racers, pretty decent rivalry in supercars in Australia. A lot of people assumed you seeing him come to the United States and him doing well, that was a motivating factor for you. True or false,” SVG was asked in the interview.

Scott McLaughlin is a motorsport athlete from New Zealand, like SVG, and he competes in IndyCar for Team Penske. He narrowly missed out on the podium at the iconic venue, as he finished in P4 in the race on Saturday.

SVG said that while it was not McLaughlin who initially inspired him to move to the US, he did have a role to play in the Supercar champion’s motorsports career in the States afterward.

“At the time it wasn’t. I just saw what was happening with the project 91 and what Kimi did and what Justin’s (Marks) sort of motivation or ambition was with the project, that was separate,” SVG said.

The Kiwi said that while he was in the States, he grabbed lunch with his Supercars rival Scott McLaughlin and his wife, and it was the encouragement he received from his friend and rival to give American motorsports a real go.

“Coming here I had lunch with Scotty and Carly, his wife, and saw what’s life like here and you know, Scott was so encouraging. ‘You gotta come over here and have a crack.’ So, now I’ve seen what he’s done, how he’s adapted to life and how successful he’s been and you’d love to emulate that, I guess, yeah,” the Kiwi added.

This will not be the first time SVG will be competing at Indianapolis in a NASCAR race. On Friday, the Kiwi got his first taste of the famed oval track in a Truck Series race, which saw him finish 19th. The Kiwi said that there was a lot left to learn, especially about the ovals.

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A 19th-place finish might not seem like that great a result, but it is quite impressive considering that he started the race in 28th place and it was his first time racing around an oval track. However, a humble SVG acknowledged the difficulties he faced and the areas he needed to work on.

“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.

He also mentioned that he needed to try racing in different cars at different ovals and that it was going to be a steep learning curve.

“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.

While he might still be a rookie in NASCAR, SVG’s debut victory in Chicago has made him one of the favorites to win the Indianapolis race. Fans will keep an eye out for Kiwi, who will start ninth on the grid but can comfortably make up positions over the course of the race.

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