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This weekend in Chicago, Shane van Gisbergen will make his NASCAR Cup Series debut in a special race as a part of Trackhouse Racing's Project91 initiative.
In preparation of NASCAR's historic Chicago street race, Shane van Gisbergen is being accompanied by Andrew Edwards, his regular Supercars engineer, who is working with Trackhouse Racing.
The fact that Chicago will host NASCAR's inaugural street race gives van Gisbergen a little edge because half of this year's Supercars schedule, including the races at Bathurst, Albert Park, and Townsville's Reid Park, will take place on temporary tracks.
Supercars have a speed limit for the pit lane, so to use it, drivers just need to slow down their cars far enough to cross the control line. The car's speed is then restricted by the ECU. But in his quick introduction to NASCAR, Shane van Gisbergen may find pit road to be one of his toughest difficulties.
As he works for a solution that isn't overly cautious but is yet doable for someone with no experience in driving a Cup Series car, Van Gisbergen finds himself faced with the manual speed limiter employed in NASCAR, something he says has been difficult to get a grasp on.
"Obviously they don't have any speed limiter, so when you go to a certain speed, the dash changes to the shift lights of what rev target they're going for. And then you basically drive to an amount of revs and it's in whatever increments you set it to," the 34-year-old said.
Shane van Gisbergen flew to the United States the day after the Betr Darwin Triple Crown and thinks the extra time spent with Trackhouse has been crucial and essential for him.
Shane Van Gisbergen opens up about his future in NASCAR
Recent months have seen a lot of speculation about the three-time Supercars champion's future. Shane van Gisbergen admits that a full-time switch to NASCAR is on his radar, despite having reiterated his commitment to Supercars until 2024.
He signed a deal earlier this year with his Triple Eight Racing that appeared as a multi-year renewal, but the driver later clarified that it was merely a one-year agreement that covered 2024.
"But my motivation for Supercars is high. Like, I'm still trying hard and pushing as hard as I can. It's complicated. Now I've started watching NASCAR more again this year that the [Trackhouse] opportunity has come up and it's appealing," he said.
Shane van Gisbergen has expressed a desire to compete in an oval race in NASCAR ever since moving to the United States for his preparation for the inaugural Chicago Street race, and he has now openly acknowledged that a full-time switch is not out of the question.
