“Quiet” SVG Not Big on Having Fun, Claims Kaulig Racing’s Xfinity Prodigy

Shane Van Gisbergen’s full-time entry into NASCAR has been a matter of intrigue not just for fans but for drivers as well. The 3-time Supercars champion will be racing in the Xfinity Series this season for Kaulig Racing before making the Cup Series move to Trackhouse Racing in 2025. He will have AJ Allmendinger and Josh Williams as his full-time teammates this year. But while those two are getting along well, Gisbergen has yet to interact properly with his new teammates, according to Williams.

The 34-year-old motorsports athlete from Auckland, New Zealand, is a superstar not just in NASCAR but in global motorsports and his exploits across the two divisions are well-documented. In 2023, SVG made his NASCAR debut in the Chicago Street Race and won the event with relative ease, beating even veterans with decades of experience. It was an incredible achievement, something that nobody, not even him, expected. Now, with his increased commitment to NASCAR, the driver has been the center of attention and his quiet personality has attracted quite the spotlight. 

Josh Williams talks about his friendship with teammate AJ Allmendinger 

There’s a big difference between running a few races in a year and running an entire NASCAR schedule. That is exactly what Shane Van Gisbergen will have to do this year in the Xfinity Series for Kaulig Racing. 2024 will be a year of preparation for the Kiwi’s Cup Series debut this year and he has been doing a lot of training ahead of the start of the new season.

The United Rentals 300 will be his full-time debut in the Xfinity Series and it will be interesting to see how a champion from a different sport handles a stock car at the Daytona International Speedway. It seems that SVG has been so deep into preparing for his debut that he has not had the time to get to know his new teammates. Josh Williams revealed recently that he has yet to have a proper conversation with the Kiwi and that he may be having a hard time making friends with him and Allmendinger.

“The first day I walked into the shop, I know a lot of these guys. I’ve hung out with a bunch of those people even in the ARCA days. Some of them even helped me on my car back in the day. Got good relationships with all those guys and hanging out with AJ has been a ton of fun. Me and him, we’re pretty…match personality-wise. Maybe we have a different approach but we like to have fun, so that makes a big difference. SVG, I really ain’t talked to him much. He’s kind of quiet. I don’t know if he knows how to take me and AJ yet, but it’s going to be fun,” he said in a recent interview with Frontstretch.

SVG made his ARCA debut recently with Pinnacle Racing Group but had the worst possible start to his Daytona weekend. At the end of the race, the Supercars champion cut a disappointed figure as he hoped to do better in the Xfinity Series. 

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Supercars champion’s ARCA debut goes horribly wrong

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The Kiwi’s misfortune in the event was through no fault of his own. Due to a massive pileup on lap 4, Shane Van Gisbergen was one of the drivers whose car was damaged. The team did a good job of repairing the vehicle and sending it out on track, but their driver could only manage a P29 finish, which disappointed him to a great extent.

“I didn’t last long in that race. It sucked. We were just learning, getting through a few (laps). Just trying to be patient and I saw a crash up ahead and I slowed up pretty good, I thought, but just got slammed from behind. That sucked. It was shame. Hopefully, we can do better in the Xfinity race,” the 34-year-old added.

One of the biggest attractions on Monday is going to be Shane Van Gisbergen’s debut in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Fans will be waiting with bated breath to see the Supercars champion, but will he be a championship contender in the division? Let us know your thoughts.

Watch This Story: Shane van Gisbergen Expresses His Concerns Headed To Daytona