Shane Van Gisbergen putting in the miles to become more than just a NASCAR footnote

A second opportunity at glory is quickly approaching for New Zealand native Shane van Gisbergen, who will defend his title July 7 at the Grant Park 165 (previously the Grant Park 220), the NASCAR Cup Series portion of this year’s Chicago Street Race extravaganza.

At last year’s inaugural event, the three-time Supercars champion in Australia and New Zealand was a debuting driver in the Cup Series for Trackhouse Racing — a relative unknown in the United States.

Now he’s the hunted.

But van Gisbergen, 35, loves the challenge of being the reigning champ. In fact, his last year has been largely about embracing the unknown and facing new challenges, starting with Chicago. Despite his experience racing on road courses, he — like just about everyone else in Grant Park last year — didn’t know what to expect from last year’s Cup race, which was held on the same 12-turn, 2.2-mile circuit that drivers will navigate this year. He left not just with the win but with what he called “a bit of a buzz” from the energy and atmosphere.

“What an experience in the crowd out here,” he said. “This was so cool. This is what you dream of. Hopefully, I can come and do more.

“The weather was crazy on Sunday, but seeing how many fans turned out and queued up to the gate and were waiting to be let in, it was cool to see the support there.”

Indeed, there’s not much van Gisbergen would change this year, other than the weather. Intense weekend downpours caused last year’s race to be shortened from 100 laps to 75, plus an additional three laps because of overtime, and caused great challenges for the field of 37 drivers.

“It was super-difficult with the rain, and it was just such a small course,” said Justin Haley, who finished second behind van Gisbergen for Kaulig Racing.

But the race also gave drivers a reprieve from the usual repetition of the season, a change of pace because they’d never before raced on city streets in a Cup Series event.

“Chicago was a super-cool race for our industry as a whole, something completely different than we’re used to,” Haley said. “It’s nice doing something different and new in front of a new audience of people. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a super-fun time. It was really wet and rainy, but besides that . . . . Hopefully this year, better weather.”

Kiwi becomes a Carolinian

Outlasting Haley in the rain, van Gisbergen became the first driver since Johnny Rutherford in 1963 to win his first Cup Series race, kick-starting a transformative year. After finishing 42nd in the Cup Series standings, he packed up in December and moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, to prepare to race full time for Kaulig in this year’s Xfinity Series while also appearing in select Cup Series races, including Chicago.

“When I came for [Chicago last year], it was a one-off race with Project 91 and Trackhouse,” van Gisbergen said. “You always hope that you’re going to win a race, but you never expect to run up front like that and put on the show like we did. Since then, it’s just snowballed. Obviously, the recognition we got for what we achieved has been massive ever since. Everything has been a bit of a whirlwind.”

After winning three Supercars championships for the Australian Triple Eight Race Engineering team in 2016, 2021 and 2022, he was anxious about making the move to the States but knew it was the right decision.

“It’s been a lot of learning for me,” van Gisbergen said. “I’ve never been racing ovals before, so I’ve been studying, practicing and getting better. Got a long season ahead, so I’m trying to keep improving.

“I had a really good time in Chicago, and then I did another race in Indianapolis [last August] and decided to move over here and have a go at [becoming a full-time NASCAR racer]. It’s very different from where I’ve come from in New Zealand and Australia, but I was just looking for a new challenge and change in my career.”

This season has been full of new adventures as van Gisbergen tries to get acclimated to the rhythms of the Xfinity and Cup circuits. In New Zealand, he said, he raced maybe five times a year, with two to three weeks off between races. Now he’s racing every week — and sitting on the left side of the car instead of the right.

The weekly preparation can be draining. Things move fast, and drivers always must be ready to adapt and put last week behind them.

Learning the ways of the American South has been a challenge, too, with van Gisbergen having to get used to everything from the food to differences in NASCAR racing terminology compared to back home.

In New Zealand, “they used ‘loose’ and ‘tight’ instead of ‘oversteer’ and ‘understeer,’ ” he said, referring to traction issues involving the front and rear tires. “Everything [here is] in imperial measurements instead of metric, especially weather and stuff like that. When you say 40 degrees here, that sounds freaking hot to me. I’m trying to understand the conversion.

“It’s every week with different challenges. We’re going for the first three-quarters of the season to tracks I’ve never been to before
or seen before, so I need to keep studying and trying to understand the track before I get there.”

No shortage of encouragement

Australian driver Marcos Ambrose has served as a sounding board for van Gisbergen. He competed in the Supercars series before relocating to the United States in 2006 and understands the huge transition van Gisbergen has undergone.

“Everything he’s been through is speeding up my learning and helping me get comfortable,” van Gisbergen said.

That said, he’s still in an adjustment period, working out the kinks on his turns and not pretending to have all the answers as he trusts in the team around him. Before his first Xfinity Series victory June 1 at Portland International Raceway, followed by another first-place finish the next week at Sonoma, he was struggling to stay in playoff contention. Winning on Portland’s road course was huge as he continues his progression in American racing.

He’s in an unusual situation, still trying to establish himself among the more experienced NASCAR drivers while still enjoying the glow of his Chicago performance. The NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte recognized him in March for his win in the street race by displaying his tracksuit and boots from that afternoon. He’s trying to balance appreciating his accomplishment and looking toward the future.

“To be honored with having something in the Hall of Fame after just one race is pretty special,” van Gisbergen said. “But I try not to get caught up in that because I’ve still got plenty of years left.”