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After Nearly Stealing Denny Hamlin’s Show, 3-Time Supercars Champ Takes NASCAR World by Storm With His Flawless Skills

Published 07/02/2023, 7:49 AM EDT

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The anticipation finally came to an end as the Chicago race began. The qualifying session lived up to its chaotic reputation, with the track proving to be bumpy and incredibly challenging for the drivers to control their cars during braking zones. As predicted, a couple of crashes occurred due to contact with the inside wall, given the narrow track and sharp turns. Unfortunately, Chase Elliott and Kevin Harvick fell victim to these incidents.

However, it was Ross Chastain’s teammate who stole the spotlight in Chicago with a remarkable combination of unique strategy and skill, securing the third position in qualifying. He came incredibly close to snatching the pole position from Denny Hamlin, missing it by a mere 0.015 seconds. Hamlin and Reddick followed closely, pushing Shane Can Ginsberg to the third spot, with finishing times of 1:28.435 and 1:28.479, respectively. Let’s delve into the changes that the New Zealand driver made to achieve this feat.

Shane Van Ginsberg with his Unique Skill At NASCAR’s Challenging Venture

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In stock cars, there is a clutch pedal on the left side and a gas pedal on the right side. In between them, there is a large pedal for braking. During the race, the clutch is not necessary for the cars except when they enter or exit the pit lane. However, some drivers use the clutch to make the rear tires hop.

In the highly anticipated Street Race, we witnessed the 3x Australian Supercar Champion skillfully utilizing both his hands and feet to secure the impressive P3 position. A video shared by NASCAR on Twitter showcased his excellent right-foot braking strategy as he successfully overtook Eric Almirola. 3x Supercar champion Scott McLaughlin took to Twitter to express praise to Shane. He re-posted the Video of his foot breaking during the race and captioned it, “Right Foot Braking.”

WATCH THIS STORY: Denny Hamlin’s “detriment” repeated as Kyle Busch criticizes handling of “pain in the d**k” driver controversy as he walks free. 

Van Ginsberg finished on pole until Tyler Reddick and Denny Hamlin put him down with just milliseconds. He expressed in his tweet, “That was wild 😀 Straight from Practice into Qualifying, the guys jumped a lot quicker and took me a bit to match it, but to start tomorrows race P3 for @THProject91 is pretty exciting!”

Shane Van Ginsberg Opens up and reveals Insights about Track and his future Plan for Race Day

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During the post-race interview with FrontStretch, the New Zealand driver expressed his delight at finishing third in the race. However, he also admitted that he had not previously driven on a straight track with such significant bumps. The cars were visibly shaking as they navigated the rough surface. The 3-time Supercar Champion attributed his success to practicing on simulators and thorough race planning prior to the event.

He went on to share, “Well I think people are getting quicker and quicker so and the track was ramping up by every run was much faster so yeah we just gotta make sure we keep doing that and make sure our car is still good when it’s fully gripped tomorrow.”

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READ MORE: Denny Hamlin Astonishingly Reveals He Almost Quit Racing as He Discloses Details on Phone Call With Mother

Shane competes as a part-timer for Trackhouse Racing in the Cup Series. During an interview, he was asked about his perspective on the opportunity to race in Chicago. He expressed his belief that his pre-race preparation and analysis of race conditions played a crucial role in his performance. He concluded by saying, “Everyone was fast here and I’m just stoked to be upfront.”

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Written by:

Moinakhtar Akhunji

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Moinakhtar Akhunji is a NASCAR writer at EssentiallySports. With a love for racing spanning almost a decade, he brings his passion and expertise to every article he writes. Growing up as an automobile enthusiast, he quickly developed a deep appreciation for the technical and competitive aspects of both F1 and NASCAR.
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Edited by:

Varunkumaar Chelladurai