Kaulig Racing driver Shane van Gisbergen will have a huge boost today by competing in the GEICO 500 event at Talladega Superspeedway. Travis Mack, the crew chief of the No. 16 Cup car, has returned to lead the team after missing out on the qualifying sessions yesterday.

Prominent NASCAR journalist, Bob Pockrass shared the update regarding Mack’s absence via his X handle. Stating that the former Trackhouse Racing crew chief was spending time with his family following the birth of his baby child. The Kiwi speedster didn’t have the best of runs in qualifying, but with Mack back at the helm, he will look to push his luck for a solid result in today’s race.

Shane van Gisbergen will look to improve on his Xfinity run at Talladega

Yesterday was a busy day for SVG. Not only did he run the qualifying laps for the Cup Series race, but he was also competing in the Xfinity Series event. Superspeedway races can be too much for a driver who is trying to find his footing in NASCAR racing, but it turns out SVG is a natural.

He was among the top contenders to clinch the win in a double-overtime finish at a racetrack. However, his No. 97 Chevrolet Camaro ran out of fuel, thus resulting in a P22 finish after all the hard work and battling. Despite the unfortunate end to his race, van Gisbergen was delighted with his run on the day, having learned the nuances of Superspeedway races.

“Yeah, once I took off it just didn’t go, but it was pretty awesome day, Wendy’s Camaro was good. Later lap was pretty exciting. And battling up the front, I had fun and I felt a lot more comfortable than I have at Daytona for example. And yeah, it was making some moves and instead of just riding and felt really cool,” SVG said after the race.

He also highlighted some of his mistakes during the race, “It was madness almost the whole way so that was pretty cool and yeah, just certain points and learning who to work with, who to not. And I made a mistake in stage two thinking someone would follow me they didn’t. And I went straight back so yeah, still learning every lap basically.”

With the Cup Series race on the radar next, Shane van Gisbergen is looking to make the most of his starting position, starting in the mid-pack in 17th place.

SVG is optimistic about his chances for the Cup Series event

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Driving in the Xfinity car and the Cup car are entirely different experiences, and SVG is well aware of this fact. However, he has surprised many of us with his exploits in the past driving the Cup car, and by no means was he a pushover in the Xfinity race at Talladega as well. In fact, he was trying to make aggressive moves but just didn’t have enough buddies to support his charge.

However, with a solid starting position for the GEICO 500 Cup race, the Kaulig driver is quite capable of pulling off a surprising result. Explaining the key differences between Superspeedway racing in Xfinity and Cup cars, SVG said, “Their car drove way different. But they say in qualifying to race those cars are pretty different. So yeah, see what it’s like tomorrow. Try and learn I’m probably a bit further up than I wanted to be. I’m starting right in the middle so see how we got.”

Going by his decent run in the Xfinity event, it will be interesting to see what van Gisbergen has to offer when competing against the best NASCAR drivers today at Talladega.