Supercars 2023: Brodie Kostecki on Shane van Gisbergen’s NASCAR performance

As he prepares to race against Shane van Gisbergen in a NASCAR, Brodie Kostecki reveals whether he’s considered a fulltime switch to drive in America.

Erebus title challenger Brodie Kostecki has declared Supercars bragging rights will be on the line when he faces off against Shane van Gisbergen in the NASCAR Cup Series next month as the title pressure heats up at home.

The spotlight will be on the Supercars pair when Kostecki makes his Cup Series debut at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Course road course on August 13 as his Triple Eight rival van Gisbergen returns for a second NASCAR start after his Chicago heroics.

New Zealand ace van Gisbergen became the talk of the motorsport world when he won in his Cup Series debut in the inaugural Chicago street race earlier this month, stunning his United States rivals and commentators.

The Triple Supercars champion will again take the wheel of the Project91 Chevrolet Camaro for the Trackhouse Racing team, while Kostecki will debut with Richard Childress Racing.

NASCAR star Kyle Busch, who will be Kostecki’s teammate at RCR, has already singled out van Gisbergen as the favourite for his second Cup Series race.

Brodie Kostecki is preparing for his NASCAR debut. Picture: Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images.

Kostecki was not surprised, but said there would be bragging rights on the line when the two Supercars stars tackle NASCAR’s best.

“(There will) definitely be a bit (of bragging rights) between us,” Kostecki said ahead of this weekend’s Sydney SuperSprint.

“I’m looking forward to racing all those guys over there as well as racing Shane.

“The rules are a lot different over there for racing, so it will be exciting to see how it all plays out.

“Those guys have seen what we do down here and it’s obviously really competitive here in Supercars and he went over there in his first race and obviously won, so it’s probably no surprise that they have probably called him the favourite.

“I have spoken to him (van Gisbergen) a little bit, but it’s sort of hard. It’s a lot different from when he went over there, it was a track (Chicago) they’re not really familiar with walls and crazy bumps under brakes.

“It’s a bit of a different story when those guys are really good at what they do. They have been at this place (Indianapolis) quite a lot so it will be really tough.”

Shane Van Gisbergen celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Grant Park 220. Picture: Chris Graythen / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA.

Kostecki, who sits second in the Supercars championship behind his Erebus teammate Will Brown, predicted the heel-toe braking, which had the NASCAR commentators spellbound when van Gisbergen raced in Chicago, would be an advantage for the pair on the Indy road course.

“It’s something that if you don’t do it in a Supercar, you are not going to make a career in a Supercar,” he said.

“It was very interesting watching, obviously the last guy to do it was Marcos Ambrose and Shane going back over there and doing it again, it was quite interesting seeing how the commentators were talking about it.

“But it’s something that is pretty normal here. So hopefully it’s an advantage.”

Kostecki is already preparing for his Cup Series debut with extensive simulator work, but said he had not given any thought to the prospect of trying to secure a full-time NASCAR drive in the future.

“I don’t really think that far ahead. I just show up and get told where I have to drive,” he said.

Kostecki’s immediate priority was solidifying his position in the Supercars championship, sitting just seven points behind series leader Brown, at Sydney Motorsport Park.

Just 72 points separates the top four drivers – Brown, Kostecki and Triple Eight pair Broc Feeney and van Gisbergen in the standings.

“I’ve just got to go out there and do what I know best and drive as hard as I can and just try to minimise mistakes,” Kostecki said.

“Will and myself (need to) keep on building on that lead on the Red Bull cars and extend the team’s championship (lead).”

While Kostecki prepared to test himself in the US, Brown said he was focused on becoming a champion in Australia.

“I have respect for it (NASCAR) … but right now I’m concentrating for the next few years on trying to win championships and Bathurst here,” Brown said.

“Really, I’m focused on Australian motorsport.

“It’s awesome to be halfway through the season and roll out with the orange numbers. The championship is so close right now. So after the first race, you could lose it if you don’t win the race. There is a lot of pressure.

“I think we are only getting stronger. I think the first two rounds I didn’t get a win and I’ve had four wins since then in the last four rounds.

“I’m pretty confident that we are only building on it and that I can definitely put up a fight against them.”

TRIPLE EIGHT FOCUSED ON TITLE FIGHT DESPITE TEAM DRAMAS

Supercars young gun Broc Feeney insists there are “no issues” between teammate Shane van Gisbergen and himself after Triple Eight’s team orders drama in Townsville, saying the squad is ready to go racing and step up its championship battle against Erebus.

In the fight to become Supercars’ youngest champion in an impressive sophomore campaign, Feeney said the team was focused on reeling in its main title rivals at Sydney Motorsport Park this weekend after clearing the air post-race in Townsville.

Feeney secured the round win on overall points in Townsville after van Gisbergen gave fourth position back to his young teammate at the chequered flag of the second leg.

But the defending Supercars champion was frustrated over the team radio when he was told he would have to give up fourth place to Feeney if he could not chase down third-placed Andre Heimgartner for a spot on the podium.

Van Gisbergen, who had started from the back of the grid, passed Feeney for fourth late in the race before attempting to reel in Heimgartner.

But if the team could not secure a podium finish, Triple Eight had wanted to ensure Feeney could secure the round win.

Broc Feeney insists there is no bad blood between he and teammate Shane van Gisbergen. Picture: Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images

Team boss Jamie Whincup said after the race van Gisbergen had misinterpreted the team communications, while the New Zealand ace later said he understood the team’s decision.

Feeney said the team had cleared up the issue after Townsville and he was confident there would be no ill-feeling in the garage at SMP this weekend.

“We spoke about it in debrief of course,” Feeney said.

“There was a point to be raised and we all spoke what we felt about it and cleared up some questions and all that about it.

“We all spoke about it and we are all good and we’re ready to go racing again this weekend. There are no issues at all between us, we are all good to go.”

Triple Eight is going to need its drivers and personnel on the same page if it is to get on top in its championship battle with Erebus Motorsport this year.

The defending teams champion is locked in a fierce title fight against fellow Camaro squad Erebus with just 72 points separating the top four drivers in the standings.

Feeney sits third in the championship, just 26 points behind Erebus series leader Will Brown and 19 points behind second-placed Brodie Kostecki.

Van Gisbergen is a further 46 points behind second-year sensation Feeney.

Feeney, still just 20, would become the youngest Supercars champion since V8 legend Craig Lowndes in 1996 if he could conquer his rivals.

It has already been a strong campaign from Feeney, who has the equal most wins (four) this year alongside Brown and has scored the most points of any driver in the last two rounds.

Feeney, who finished sixth in the championship in his debut season last year, felt he had as much of a chance as any of the leading contenders in an open title race.

“I suppose it’s anyone’s game. I feel like I’ve got as good of a shot as the other guys that are there,” Feeney said.

“We’re in a good spot at the moment, it’s obviously good being in the (championship) talk, but we’ve still got a long way to go.

“The speed is there to be up the front most weekends, it’s just about putting some consistent results together.

“I am pretty happy with what I have achieved so far, but the goal is to win a championship and be winning races consistently.

“Last year was great to walk away sixth in the championship and to win the team’s championship was awesome, but this year has been the big one, it’s about stepping up and trying to get more race wins and hopefully being in the (title) fight.”

Broc Feeney felt Triple Eight was closing in on Erebus. Picture: Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images

Feeney felt Triple Eight was closing in on Erebus after their rivals’ strong start to the season.

“We are clawing back slowly, but we are so far from the end yet,” Feeney said.

“We are getting closer and closer to the front, we have won the last couple of rounds, so we are certainly heading in the right direction.

“We’ll try and make our cars as fast as possible and hopefully we can beat the other guys.”

Feeney, who scored six straight podiums before his fourth place in Townsville, expected the endurances races at Sandown and Bathurst to have an even greater bearing on the tight championship battle this year.

“The enduro season is going to be the big one, I think that is going to have a big factor on the championship,” said Feeney, who will again team with Whincup.

“They’re going to be the two most important races of the season, 600 points up for grabs, especially when it is so tight.

“So after this weekend, we will sit down and put a plan together for the next month and figure out how we are going to do it as best as possible.”

ENDS

Originally published as Supercars 2023: Brodie Kostecki on Shane van Gisbergen’s NASCAR performance