Shane van Gisbergen backs Will Brown's racing potential ahead of the Australian Supercars champion's second Cup Series start at Chicago

Shane van Gisbergen has shared his thoughts on the reigning Supercars champion, Will Brown, who will compete next week at The Grant Park 165 at the Chicago Street Circuit. It will mark the 19th race of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season.

Van Gisbergen and Brown share history. Per reports, Brown replaced van Gisbergen at Triple Eight Race Engineering when the latter moved to NASCAR full-time. Van Gisbergen, on the other hand, spotted for Brown when he raced at Sonoma Raceway (for Richard Childress Racing) last year in June, marking his Cup Series debut.

Recalling the same during a recent interview with veteran crew chief Steve Letarte, Shane van Gisbergen said (12:54):

“I was trying to help him a bit, but this year, there's no help because we're competitors. I know that Kaulig can put a really good car together. Even though it'll be a third extra car there, the car will still be capable of a great result. But it's gonna be hard, you know, it's not everyone's first time there anymore. It's only a short practice, so it's gonna be difficult for him.”

Will Brown will drive the No. 13 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet in the race. Shane van Gisbergen, who won the Chicago street race in its inaugural year, believes that pulling off a top-10 during qualifying would be a good way to start the weekend.

“And then the racing, he'll see what it's all about. He's a very good, capable driver, so he could surprise a few people. But you just never know,” Gisbergen added.

Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman is the defending winner of the race. Shane van Gisbergen, meanwhile, will enter the event 32nd on points. Eighteen races into the season, the Auckland native has 268 points, one top-five, and a pair of top-10s to his name.

“It’s not just been easy wins”- Will Brown breaks down Shane van Gisbergen’s NASCAR journey since his Chicago win

Shane van Gisbergen won his debut NASCAR race, which also happened to be the first-ever Cup Series event held at the Chicago Street Circuit. What he achieved had not been done since Johnny Rutherford emerged victorious in his Cup debut at Daytona back in 1963.

But Gisbergen’s accolades did not spiral right away. It took him almost a year to log his second career victory, this time in the Xfinity Series. He backed it up with two more wins at Sonoma and Chicago, but none came easily.

Reflecting on how difficult winning races in NASCAR is, Will Brown said (as quoted by Supercars.com):

“It’s hard putting expectations on it because you saw what Shane did his first year, but then from there, it’s not just been easy wins, you know what I mean? Even on road courses.”

When asked about his expectations for his upcoming race in Chicago, the Toowoomba native replied:

“I’m probably not going to put a number on it just yet… but if we’re in that top 10 to start with, we’d be very happy.”

Scheduled for 75 laps, the event will be televised on TNT Sports with live radio updates on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, 2 p.m. ET onwards. Shane van Gisbergen is one of the drivers still vying for their maiden win of the season.