"He was over the moon"- Shane van Gisbergen honors the "first guy" he called in NASCAR ahead of the throwback weekend in Darlington

The traditional throwback weekend at Darlington Raceway is around the corner, and Kaulig Racing driver Shane van Gisbergen among several other cars has revealed their throwback paint scheme.

In a bid to pay tribute to the grassroots of legendary owners, drivers, and the people associated with NASCAR, the theme for the current season is, 'Celebrate our Roots through Grassroots Racing.'

Before stepping into the realm of NASCAR, Shane van Gisbergen cemented his place among the Supercars greats, clinching three championships. However, when the New Zealander transitioned from one motorsport to another, he needed a guiding hand, following which he called Supercars champion turned NASCAR racer, Marcos Ambrose.

Ahead of his 200.802-mile Xfinity Series run, Shane van Gisbergen paid tribute to Ambrose as he unfurled sporting the latter's decade-old paint scheme from the 2011 Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips hosted by Watkins Glen International, where Marcos stole the win from Brad Keselowski at the final corner to bag his second consecutive triumph at Watkins Glen.

While honoring Marcos Ambrose's contribution, the #97 Chevrolet driver said (via Trackhouse Racing on X):

"I wanted to be off the Watkins Glen race he [Ambrose] had with Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch. It's like one of the best NASCAR road course race finishes ever. I watched that race live I remember the finish, how awesome it was, and then the buzz."

"Once this [NASCAR] opportunity came up, I went straight to him for advice. He was one of the first guys I called. He was just like, 'You got to get here.' The transition, he's helped so much. What to expect, what it's going to feel like, things I'm going to struggle with, and tracks that are going to be difficult for me and Darlington was one of them. When I told him about it, he was over the moon," Shane van Gisbergen added.

"Thrilled to see it": Marcos Ambrose on witnessing his decade-old paint scheme on Shane van Gisbergen's car

Ambrose parted ways with Supercars racing at the end of the 2005 season and ventured into NASCAR as a Truck Series driver for Wood Brothers/JTG Racing. In a couple of years, he progressed into Cup Series racing driving for Wood Brothers and JTG Racing separately as the duo split their business.

In 2010, Ambrose announced his move to Richard Petty Motorsports and fielded the #9 Ford from 2011 onwards for the remainder of his NASCAR career. During his stint with RPM, the Supercar champ exercised his dominance on the Watkins Glen International twice, while donning the QuadLockCase livery which will be showcased again.

Upon learning the resurrection of his 2011 triumphant paint scheme, Marcos Ambrose unraveled being "thrilled" when Shane van Gisbregen called him. The former said (via Auto Action):

“When Shane called to show me the throwback paint scheme I was humbled and thrilled to see it. I have fond memories of my time in NASCAR and being part of the Petty racing family. I feel privileged to have experienced NASCAR just like SVG is now."

After bagging two consecutive titles, Shane van Gisbergen and Marcos Ambrose left Supercars for NASCAR. The former clinched his back-to-win titles in 2021 and 2022, whereas the latter secured his feat in 2003 and 2004.