The 2024 NASCAR season is shaping up to be one for the history books, with records being broken left and right, but this growth has also taken newcomer Shane van Gisbergen on a journey of a lifetime. Just last week, SVG brought in a solid P12 finish for Kaulig Racing at the Xfinity Series season opener, following which the Kiwi shared an emotional sentiment, “I feel like I belong here”.

While this statement already had a solid foundation with SVG’s Chicago Road Course glory in 2023, this year the Australian SUPERCARS champion outsmarted his competition in a game of fuel mileage to finish on the podium at the RAPTOR King of Tough 250. If SVG felt like he belonged in NASCAR earlier, this achievement cements the fact that the Kiwi is not just here to stay, but to win.

Shane van Gisbergen beats all the odds to secure a podium at Atlanta Motor Speedway

Shane van Gisbergen entered the weekend at Atlanta on the back foot of other drivers owing to a lack of practice time, but the Kiwi managed to secure a solid spot in P13 for the King of Tough 250. While all eyes were on Richard Childress Racing and Jesse Love for the majority of the first two stages, Kaulig Racing‘s aggressive pit strategy for the #97 Chevrolet meant the Kiwi was playing a risky game.

His early pitstops may have saved him in the long run, but they did put SVG at risk by putting him far behind the lead pack after he pitted halfway through the second stage. Shane van Gisbergen had to fight his way back to 16th alongside Jeffrey Earnhardt but managed to catch the lead draft until the second pit stop sent him back to 28th. Still, he managed to slot himself into eighth with only a few laps to go.

While a solid top-ten finish looked like it was in the books, the sudden loss of fuel for a majority of the Ford teams meant the story was far from over. With only 2 laps out of the 163 left, cars began to drop left and right, triggering a caution when one came to a halt right on the track. Predicting that overtime may cause fuel-related woes, Kaulig Racing decided to pit SVG, a decision that would end up helping SVG secure the podium finish.

On the overtime restart, cars immediately began to fall off owing to a lack of fuel right in front of SVG’s windshield. Soon enough, the man who was in eighth earlier was now fighting with Ryan Truex for third, and the rest was history. Reflecting on this momentous podium, Shane van Gisbergen shared with Matt Weaver and other insiders, “It’s just awesome. I am more stoked to just come home with a result. Clean car, learnt something every lap and learnt to move around.”

SVG felt that he could have asked for a draftsman for the last restart, but this was only the second full-time outing at a Superspeedway for the Supercars champion. With a long road still ahead, Shane van Gisbergen added, “That’s a part of learning and I didn’t know what the track was gonna do, how things change when I got around people, but yeah it’s all about learning. And to come away from a stray car with a good result was really cool.”

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For a man who would have been far more than just satisfied with a top-ten finish, the podium was just the icing on the cake. However, the Kiwi also acknowledged the role played by the fuel mileage mishaps on Ford’s part as well as Kaulig Racing’s valuable hindsight.

Gives credit where it’s due while pointing out Austin Hill’s commendable success

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While it’s no secret that Shane van Gisbergen has proven his ability to adapt to the drafting techniques required for success at super-speedways, the road-course sensation could not have done it without the brilliant strategy that Kaulig Racing had cooked up. After all, if the #97 had not pitted, it may not have run for the same distance as Austin Hill’s #21 Chevrolet, which eventually won the race.

Reflecting on the fuel mileage situation, SVG stated, “Yeah, I guess knowing that we came in for fuel and I guess its impressive because I don’t think the 21 (Austin Hill) came in, so how he made it was really good, so hopefully I can have into his onboard and see what he was doing throughout the stint to make it but yeah, I thought I was saving fuel but I guess it was the right call to pit.” 

With that said, SVG felt the weekend at Atlanta had not just given the team an attractive trophy to look back at, but had also provided the Kiwi with valuable insights into stock car racing. He concluded by sharing, “Every stint, every stage, I was having a lot of fun and learning trying to move around and yeah but my thing was so tight I couldn’t really do anything with it.” 

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Now that Shane van Gisbergen has extended his road-course success to some of NASCAR’s mightiest ovals, do you think the Kiwi can keep up the pace for the rest of the 2024 Xfinity season?