“If You Hit Us, It’s Our Fault” – Shane Van Gisbergen Astounded by the Rip Roaring NASCAR Pitstops

NASCAR can be a bit of an unorthodox sport, especially for drivers who come from other motorsports competitions. The cars, the rules, and the racing are quite unique and it can take certain racers by surprise when they start.

One such racer was Kiwi Supercars champion Shane Van Gisbergen. SVG made his debut earlier this season in the Cup Series race at Chicago. He shocked the world when he dominated the rest of the field to take a victory in his very first race. That performance has all but confirmed that he will be a full-time driver in the Cup Series, but it is yet to be seen for which team.

As things stand, SVG will race at Indianapolis with Trackhouse Racing’s Project 91. Before the weekend, the Kiwi sat down with Dale Earnhardt Jr and Mike Davis on the Dale Jr. Download podcast.

Shane Van Gisbergen Was Scared During His First NASCAR Pitstop

In a recent episode, Mike Davis asked SVG whether he was practicing the pitstops with his crew and how he was adapting to them. The Kiwi chuckled and said that it was quite different and that he got scared the first time he pitted for new tires in NASCAR. It was during the race in Chicago, for which he will always be remembered.

When asked if he was practicing pit stops, SVG said, “Yeah, I’ll do some this afternoon in the Cup car and yeah it’s completely different. Normally all the guys are there, already waiting out for me, and the first time they jumped over the wall they scared the **** out of me.”

“I was locked up and they’re like ‘No don’t even worry about it. If you hit us, it’s our fault.’ It’s way different, yeah,” he added.

SVG’s performance in Chicago has drawn a lot of eyeballs not only in the NASCAR world but also from other motorsports competitions. It was the first time, in a long time, that an ‘outsider’ had won his first-ever race in the Cup Series.

And SVG did not just win the race, he dominated the rest of the field and took a rather comfortable victory.

In an earlier episode of the Dale Jr. Download podcast, Dale Earnhardt Jr mentioned that the reason someone like SVG had that dominant performance in his debut race in the Cup Series was because of the cars. According to him, the Next Gen cars were based on the V8 Supercars, which were right up SVG’s alley.

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“The V8 Supercar was the closest thing to NASCAR stock cars around the globe and that got even closer when the next-gen car was built. NASCAR and Steve O’Donnell will tell you they built the NASCAR next-gen based off of the V8 Supercar. So for Shane or anyone to get in that car and feel comfortable makes perfect sense and I think his adaptation to ovals will be even easier due to that than it was for Marcos,” said Dale Earnhardt Jr in an earlier episode of the podcast.

He also mentioned that SVG will have a lot of pressure going into Indianapolis thanks to his performance in Chicago. For the Kiwi to convince NASCAR teams that Chicago was not a fluke, SVG needs to lead laps and challenge for the win and not just go for a top-five finish, as per Junior.

“He needs to go to Indy, lead laps, and challenge for the win. If he runs fifth, that ain’t good enough to warrant all the effort that will have to take place to get him over here in that full-time deal. He will… have challenges,” Junior added.

It is not surprising that SVG will go into Indianapolis with a lot of pressure on his shoulders. However, the Kiwi is a champion and it will be exciting to see how he adapts to the iconic race track over the weekend.

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