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Shane van Gisbergen’s NASCAR debut win can only be summed up in one word, legendary. Dominating veteran NASCAR drivers in their own playing field, the Kiwi proved why he was named the fourth most successful racing driver in Australia’s Supercars Championship history. In addition to securing the Chicago win, the three-time Supercars champion also posted a record lap time of 1:29.914. 

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The world watched the #91 Trackhouse Racing driver in awe as he quickly climbed the charts, going from 18th to securing the first NASCAR debutant victory in 60 years. As news of the Kiwi’s stunning win spread like wildfire, NASCAR’s Kenny Wallace couldn’t help but speculate if van Gisbergen’s win could trigger a comeback from Red Bull, a brand strongly associated with the driver.

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Kenny Wallace’s Take on Red Bull’s Possible Comeback

Retiring from NASCAR in 2015 after a 25-year-long career, Kenny Wallace primarily focuses on his YouTube podcast ‘The Kenny Wallace Show’. On the podcast, Wallace focuses on race events, breaking down all the essential highlights. This time around, Shane Van Gisbergen (who drives for the Red Bull team in the Supercar series) took to the center stage of Herman’s podcast. Diving into the race events, Wallace touched on how the Kiwi weaved through 17 drivers, grabbing his stunning debutant win.

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He even delved into how the New Zealanders and Australians were phenomenal road course drivers and how Van Gisbergen’s Red Bull Supercar series car was similar to NASCAR’s Next-Gen cars.

Kenny Wallace even went on to say how the Next-Gen car’s dynamics were copied from the cars run at the Supercar Championship. Making the comparison and speaking on how Shane Van Gisbergen has been immensely successful in his NASCAR debut, Wallace couldn’t help but speculate Red Bull’s NASCAR comeback.

“So now you got Red Bull. Are they going to come back to NASCAR? Remember, Red Bull left NASCAR, they went over there. Now they’re on Twitter, they’re on Facebook, Red Bull is the energy drink. Man, you know, everybody loves NASCAR, you know what I mean? So maybe Red Bull comes back.”

“Maybe some of those drivers come over here, because the new next-gen car is closer to their cars. Remember we are in NASCAR, that’s our name, and that’s V8 Supercar series, that’s their deal,” said Wallace. 

Watch This Story: Kenny Wallace’s “Dumb Mother****er” Rant Left Dale Earnhardt Jr Panicking In Front Of Wife Amy

A little more than a decade ago, Red Bull could be seen lapping NASCAR’s ovals, until their decision to quit post the 2011 season. With Shane Van Gisbergen’s victory, Wallace’s shot in the dark of a Red Bull comeback could turn into reality.

Red Bull’s Short-Lived NASCAR Run

NASCAR’s 2006 season saw energy drink giant Red Bull debut with NASCAR legend Bill Elliott behind the wheel of their #83 Dodge. In 2007, Red Bull went on to add A. J. Allmendinger as their second driver. During the course of their six-year run, the Red Bull Racing Team competed in a total of 286 races. Securing 10 pole positions and only 2 title wins throughout their NASCAR journey, it’s safe to say Red Bull’s NASCAR division wasn’t generating the desired results.

In December 2011, the Red Bull Racing Team announced its NASCAR departure. Citing reasons for lackluster performance and poor demographic outreach, Red Bull sold their NASCAR assets to Ron Devine. Purchasing the foundations of a NASCAR team, Devine then used Red Bull’s assets to form BK Racing.

Read More: Kenny Wallace Argues Over The Idea Of ‘Sunday Night NASCAR’ After Nashville’s Unanticipated Success

Would you like to see Red Bull disrupt the current balance of power held by NASCAR’s top-tier teams?

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Naman Neeraj

244 Articles

Naman Neeraj is a NASCAR Author at EssentiallySports. This Motorsports buff has completed his undergrad in English Literature and has now set out to make a name for himself in the journalism field. Although he is new to the scene, he has been following motorsports for over a decade. Apart from NASCAR, he also gravitates towards other motorsports, like Formula 1 and MotoGP. Being an avid fan of Chase Elliott and Hendrick Motorsports, he believes the #9 driver has a lot more to achieve in his career, including multiple championships. When he is not cheering for NASCAR's most popular driver or when he is not busy penning down his thoughts about the stock car racing series, he can be found sketching and exploring the lure of the open roads with his motorcycle.

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Ranvijay Singh

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