Ever since he made his NASCAR debut in Chicago last year, winning the inaugural street race, Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen seems to have a bounty on his head as the NASCAR regulars have seemingly taken it up as a prestige issue. In fact, after his historical win at the Windy City, he has never been able to emulate that level of success ever again despite taking up a full-time responsibility. But that leaves us with a bigger question, is the Kiwi being targeted deliberately by the racers of NASCAR to deny an outsider trying to make it big in the US? Well, Dale Earnhar

Shane van Gisbergen and his disappointing day at COTA

The past Xfinity Series race at COTA was SVG’s first proper race in NASCAR. Curious how? Well, it was the first time the Kiwi was in for a major shoving contest, something he wasn’t much familiar with in the Australian promotion but something he perhaps needed to be very well versed in to survive NASCAR. During the final laps of Focused Health 250, SVG and fellow Chevy driver Austin Hill got into a heated exchange with Hill instigating the back and forth, nudging the #97 Chevy of the Kiwi.

SVG did not sit idle either as he returned the favor to the 29-year-old, bumping his RCR Chevy from behind, getting the lead back. However, all of it was in vain given both drivers fell short as Kyle Larson capitalized on the duo’s back and forth, and snatched the lead to win his first Xfinity race of the season. However, the stint leaves us to ponder one question. Is SVG public enemy #1 in NASCAR? Well, the short answer is sort of. After all, no NASCAR driver can forget the fact that the 34-year-old was the first outsider to outclass them and deliver a masterclass when he dominated the field in Chicago.

And as Kyle Busch said, NASCAR drivers are like elephants, keeping an account on the back of their minds, possibly promising themselves that another Grant Park 220 won’t come up ever again. However, Dale Jr has a different take on this. Mentioning the epic duel between Brad Keselowski and Marcos Ambrose back in 2012 at Watkins Glen, Junior essentially said it’s all for the thrill of racing. Speaking to his co-hosts, he said, “How did those two guys get out and react to how physical that was? Didn’t Brad get out and go, ‘Gave ’em everything I had’. And man, did they not drive each other into the corners, shoving each other through the final corners as hard as they could? That’s the way you do it. That’s how you get out and look, I mean, even it’s like when you’re on the wrong end of that or the guy gets the best of you, especially if you don’t like the guy, man.” 

While the JRM co-owner opined that there’s no personal enmity going on, he also revealed how he foresaw Larson winning Saturday’s race and what he saw differently that most of us missed.

Dale Jr thinks Kyle Larson had anticipated Hill and SVG’s downfall

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“That last restart, he just drove through me at (Turn) 1, yeah, I guess that’s how it is here. I just stood up for myself,” said van Gisbergen to Fox Sports after he gave one right back to Austin Hill at COTA. Apparently, it was these stints that eventually got him a penalty, a disappointing 27th-place finish, and Larson the upper hand.

Reflecting on this, Junior said, “I could see Larson was going to win that race when they took the white flag. You see how fast he was coming.” Adding to his take, the former NBC analyst mentioned how the duel on the front stretch gave the HMS driver an edge as SVG missed the corner, cut the course, and ultimately lost the lead to the 2021 Cup Series champion. Dale Jr mentioning Larson added, “They’re gonna get physical and again start missing corners. And they did. They missed the last corner and Larson goes right by and he’s getting the win. No big deal.” 

Experienced in ‘S**tshows’, Denny Hamlin Unwinds Confused SVG’s Retaliation at RCR Star

While many might think Shane van Gisbergen is a deliberate target, Dale Jr certainly doesn’t think so. Given his experience and expertise in NASCAR, perhaps he’s right. What do you think?