“Throw him to the wolves” - Kyle Larson wants Shane van Gisbergen to be fast-tracked to the Cup Series in 2024

Kyle Larson wants Kiwi sensation Shane van Gisbergen to be fast-tracked to the Cup Series next year, as he believes the 3x Supercars champion is ready for the challenge.

After winning in his NASCAR Cup Series debut in Chicago, Van Gisbergen has admitted his interest in moving to the American stock car series. The 34-year-old New Zealander has already created a lot of speculation regarding his destination in NASCAR.

Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson reckons that Van Gisbergen is ready for the Cup Series challenge. The #5 Chevy driver wants the latter to be thrown into the pack of wolves.

“What’s the point?” the 2021 Cup Series champion told Speedcafe. “Just throw him in the Cup Series. He’s good enough to figure it out, so what’s the point in the Xfinity Series if the financials make sense?

“Throw him to the wolves and he’s going to figure it out," he added.

What's preventing Shane van Gisbergen from taking such a step is his lack of oval racing experience. While making his second start for Project #91 this weekend at Indianapolis, Van Gisbergen will be making his oval debut in the Truck Series race at IRP.

The 2021 Cup Series champion reckons that ovals will not be a tough challenge for the Kiwi driver, who is known for his adaptability.

“He should be fine,” said the Hendrick Motorsports driver. “He is a driver, even with mostly a road racing background, this shouldn’t take him too long to figure out."

“It might be simpler to him, compared to what he is used to, so he’s going to be pretty good," he added.

Kyle Larson and his fellow drivers are ready for redemption at the Indy road course after being embarrassed by Shane van Gisbergen in Chicago. With prior experience on the track, the Cup Series driver is confident to go toe to toe with the road course ringer.

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Shane van Gisbergen wants to "stay out of trouble" at Indianapolis

With just three races left ahead of the playoffs, Shane van Gisbergen understands the dire situation of the Cup Series drivers as he prepares for his second outing at Indianapolis.

Unlike the Chicago street race, Van Gisbergen finds himself in the thick of the playoff battle as drivers will be fighting for every position and point. Hence he stresses the need for a clean weekend.

“We have got to come in and do our best, but you also have got to race with respect as well. These guys are fighting for their championship every week, so I have got to come in and stay out of trouble,” he was quoted saying by motorsport.com.

“It will certainly be different than the Chicago street course. I'll need to get up to speed quickly, but we plan a lot of simulator time and I know [crew chief] Darian [Grubb] will be thoroughly prepared for Indy,” he added.

Shane van Gisbergen will have to look out at Turn 1 in Indianapolis, which is infamous for the multi cars wrecks and pile-ups.