- New Zealand’s Shane van Gisbergen, who NASCAR with his victory in the Cup Series inaugural Chicago street course race, could repeat his performance at Indianapolis.
- Van Gisbergen will once again drive the No. 91 Trackhouse Racing entry, but he won’t be the only Australian Supercars competitor in the event.
- Van Gisbergen’s Chicago victory made him the first driver to win in his Cup debut since Johnny Rutherford accomplished the feat in a 1963.
New Zealand’s Shane van Gisbergen, who shocked the NASCAR community with his victory in the Cup Series inaugural Chicago street course race, could repeat his performance at Indianapolis despite the series regulars’ familiarity with that road course.
“I would say he’s the favorite going in, for sure,” Kyle Busch says. “(At Chicago) he had us all beat by probably six- to eight-tenths of a second a lap. I would say going into Indy we should all be within two- or three-tenths, but he’ll still be the best guy.”
Immediately after the Chicago race, Chase Elliott said the Supercars driver made the Cup regulars look bad. However, he says he’s glad van Gisbergen is returning.
“(In Chicago), I thought his drive was not only impressive, but very classy,” Elliott says. “You didn’t see him running over people. He didn’t run over people to win the race. I thought he did it the right way. That is very admirable. I think people like that deserve great opportunities.”
Van Gisbergen will once again drive the No. 91 Trackhouse Racing entry, but he won’t be the only Australian Supercars competitor in the event. Brodie Kostecki is scheduled to make his Cup Series debut in the August 13 Verizon 200 at the Brickyard in the No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.
“I hope all those guys come and run more races, because I think it’ll make us better at the end of the day,” Elliott says.
Brad Keselowski believes the Indy road course will be a “different challenge” for van Gisbergen.
“Indy is a much more open course than a closed street course and we’re going back to more of our traditional restarts, assuming it doesn’t rain,” Keselowski says.
Restarts during the Grant Park 220 in Chicago earlier this year were single file due to rain instead of the traditional double-file restarts, which can become chaotic. However, the Cup regulars know van Gisbergen, who finished 1.259 seconds ahead of runner-up Justin Haley, will be tough.
Van Gisbergen possesses the talent to record another Cup victory, Keselowski says.
“He’s a great driver and with a really strong team that has good speed in their cars,” Keselowski says. “Really a lethal combination.”
Van Gisbergen’s Chicago victory made him the first driver to win in his Cup debut since Johnny Rutherford accomplished the feat in a 1963 qualifying race at Daytona. The first New Zealander to win in NASCAR’s premier series, van Gisbergen is a three-time Supercars champion with his most recent title coming last year. He owns 80 victories and 46 pole positions in that series. He also has won the Bathurst 1000 twice.
Van Gisbergen is one of only two drivers to have won all three major racing events at Mount Panorama: the Bathurst 1000, Bathurst 6 Hour and Bathurst 12 Hour.
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