Shane van Gisbergen not expecting to blow his NASCAR rivals away

Shane van Gisbergen will make his racing return in the US in August, but is expecting the competition to aim up after he blew them away in his debut.

Shane van Gisbergen is not expecting to blow his NASCAR rivals away like he did in his debut win in Chicago when he makes his racing return in the United States in August.

After confirming his intention to leave Supercars to race in NASCAR in 2024 after his Sydney win on Sunday, van Gisbergen said there would be a lot more expectation on his return race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on August 13.

Van Gisbergen stunned the motorsport world when he won in his first-start Cup Series race on the streets of Chicago in early July.

The New Zealand ace confirmed his preference to leave Supercars to race in the US next year on Sunday, but he does not want to leave Triple Eight “scrambling” to find a replacement who will do a “good job”.

Van Gisbergen said he was still working through plans for 2024, but first has to navigate a second NASCAR start for Trackhouse Racing where he will now be a marked man.

“I think there will certainly be a lot more expectation,” van Gisbergen said.

“It’s going to be difficult. Like, there is only 20 minutes practice or something at a track guys have been going to for the last three or four years.

“It’s going to be much tougher. I think where I was strong at Chicago, the last sector was where the walls were very close, something I’m used to, they’re not.

“I hope to still be competitive, but I don’t expect to be the fastest. I think there is going to be a lot of people upfront there.”

Shane van Gisbergen in action at the Sydney SuperNight.

Supercars series leader Brodie Kostecki will make his Cup Series debut alongside van Gisbergen in Indianapolis for Richard Childress Racing.

Van Gisbergen said he hoped Kostecki performed well to help more Supercars drivers get an opportunity to try their luck in the US series.

“The Childress cars were very quick last year, which Brodie is in,” van Gisbergen said.

“And I really hope he does well so it helps more of us get opportunities to go over there.

“I think some of the guys here are the best drivers and capable of doing it. If he goes well it will lead to opportunities for everyone.”

Van Gisbergen might not want to leave Triple Eight in the lurch to find a replacement, but it seems he has not forgotten the team orders drama from Townsville.

The Kiwi ace was asked to hand back fourth place to teammate Broc Feeney at the finish of the Townsville Sunday race if he was unable to chase down third-placed Andre Heimgartner.

If the team could not get onto the podium, it had wanted to secure the round win on overall points for Feeney.

When asked what it would mean to him to win another championship in 2023 if this was his final year in Supercars, van Gisbergen made a reference to the meaning of round wins.

“I guess for us, it has been a massive battle the last few rounds, but I think every race for the last few rounds bar yesterday, we have caught the championship leader,” he said.

“It has been tough, but we have still being scoring a lot of points and round wins and stuff like that, whatever they mean.”

The comment brought a wry smile from team manager Mark Dutton, sitting next to van Gisbergen in the post-race press conference.

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Rival team owner Brad Jones couldn’t resist a little jibe at van Gisbergen when questioned about the possibility of his driver Andre Heimgartner being recruited to replace his fellow Kiwi.

Asked if he had doubled-checked Heimgartner’s contract to make sure van Gisbergen didn’t try to recruit him to replace him at Triple Eight to ease his conscience about a leaving the team, Jones quipped:

“I didn’t know Shane had a conscience,” Jones said.

“Besides, he has got the GOAT (Jamie Whincup), he can always put him in for a year.”

Andre Heimgartner during the Sydney SuperNight.

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Andre Heimgartner is enjoying a career-best season for BJR, but he is not frustrated that he has not yet been able to convert his string of podiums into a win.

Heimgartner secured his sixth podium of the year when he finished second behind van Gisbergen in Sunday’s race at Sydney Motorsport Park.

The Kiwi driver was confident the win would come eventually.

“We are obviously trying to win, but we are trying to get that consistency which is the main thing that has eluded us. We have had poles and a win before,” Heimgartner said.

“I’m not too stressed about it, it will come. If we keep putting the car on the front row or the first couple of rows, the win will come eventually.

“Maybe when he (SVG) stuffs off it might be a bit easier.

“I’m not too stressed about it.”

Originally published as Shane van Gisbergen not expecting to blow his NASCAR rivals away