“I’m Most Anxious About”: A Nervous Shane Van Gisbergen Studies Denny Hamlin to Conquer Superspeedways

Next year is going to be an exhilarating season for Trackhouse Racing and Kaulig Racing, who are both excited about the kind of performances Australian Supercars ace Shane Van Gisbergen is eager to put in. As a full-time Xfinity driver and part-time Cup Series contestant, SVG will throw himself into the deep end of American motorsport, and he’s been doing tons of research on how to get up to speed on the infamous superspeedways.

In a recent interview on Peter Stratta’s YouTube channel, Shane van Gisbergen answered a bunch of prominent journalists regarding his preparations for the upcoming challenge in 2024. And while SVG is confident he’s going to have plenty of track time to learn the ropes, he’s also kept an eye on Denny Hamlin’s heroics at the superspeedway to gauge the level of competition!

SVG reveals his plans to tackle daunting superspeedways for the first time

Shane Van Gisbergen was on Peter Stratta’s interview when he was asked about how he’s been preparing for his first shot at the superspeedways. He shared that normally it would just seem like he’s watching cars drive flat out through corners, but watching Denny Hamlin at Talladega helped him gain immense insight.

He added, “I’ve been trying to study it as much as I can, and you know there was a Denny Hamlin onboard from, I think it was last year’s Talladega race, where he had to come back through the field. I’ve been studying that, just trying to see how it all works. And obviously, I’ll get some SMT data, and you can see more of the driver inputs, but yeah, watching that is like a high-speed chess match but also a lottery, I guess in some ways, it can be.”

Shane van Gisbergen felt it was going to be a difficult first superspeedway race for the Australian supercar sensation. The fact that there was limited practice didn’t help his prospects at a completely new style of racing, which added to his anxiety. He shared, “But that style of racing, it’s so far removed from everything I’ve ever done, so super speedways is probably one of the most I’m anxious about, I guess, or unsure about what’s going to happen and how the cars race. So yeah, that’s going to be a top-first one.”

Shane van Gisbergen felt it was going to be a difficult first superspeedway race for the Australian supercar sensation. The fact that there was limited practice didn’t help his prospects at a completely new style of racing, which added to his anxiety. He shared, “But that style of racing, it’s so far removed from everything I’ve ever done, so super speedways is probably one of the most I’m anxious about I guess or unsure about what’s going to happen and how the cars race. So yeah, that’s going to be a top first one.”

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It’s no secret that the superspeedways create some intense racing; it’s also going to be a mammoth task for Shane van Gisbergen to catch up to his teammate, A.J. Allmendinger, who happens to be a road course maestro himself. Fortunately for the Kiwi, he has an ace up his sleeve that will allow him to get more experience than any rookie could dream of.

Shane van Gisbergen could not be more prepared for such a golden opportunity.

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Further along the video, SVG also shared how excited he was to drive full-time in the Xfinity Series with Kaulig Racing while also having a few races lined up in the Cup Series with Trackhouse Racing. The budding rookie felt that the best way to go was to be thrown into the deep end and have to figure his way out along the way. He shared, “Getting to go to every circuit and then hopefully getting to experience the pressure of the playoffs as well, you know, that’s what the goal is to make the playoffs and understand the pressure, be involved in it.”

However, what SVG is looking forward to the most is the second visit to the track they’ve already been to in the second half of the season. He added, “When we go back to the tracks we’ve been to and understand the flow of the race, how the track drives and hopefully up to speed with my car by then so. I think it’s the perfect way to do it, jump in full-season straight away and then the way the Cup Series worked you know.”

SVG went on to share that he’s got a Cup Series race lined up once every month with a wide mix of tracks. Trackhouse and SVG will be visiting superspeedways from Talladega to road courses and even the Charlotte Roval. Van Gisbergen’s exhilaration was limitless as he concluded, “The Charlotte weekend is going to be pretty tough, doing 300 miles on Saturday and 600 on Sunday, but it’s all about experience.”

READ MORE: Kaulig Racing Forms a Formidable Road Course Duo With Shane Van Gisbergen and A. J. Allmendinger

It’s safe to say 2024 will be a year to watch SVG’s journey with Kaulig Racing and Trackhouse Racing unfold. But will A.J. Allmendinger’s road course dominance pose a threat to his own teammate’s biggest strength?