It has been a decent start to life in NASCAR for 3-time Supercar champion Shane van Gisbergen. The Kiwi proved his mettle in his Xfinity Series debut at Daytona earlier this week, which saw him finish P12. The Kiwi has developed a lot of love for stock car racing, as he asserted his dedication to the sport ahead of the race in Atlanta and iterated that he was not missing the Supercars Championship despite driving in it for several years.

The competition’s 2024 season will commence with the Thrifty Bathurst 500 this weekend, and it will be difficult for SVG to watch the racing action live due to the time difference. However, the Kaulig Racing star seems to be focused on the job at hand, which is the RAPTOR King of Tough 250 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Does the time difference make watching Supercars a struggle for Shane van Gisbergen?

Transitioning into a new sport is never easy, as one often misses what they used to do and struggles to make it big in their current sport. That has not been the case for Shane van Gisbergen, but it is too early to tell. His P12 finish in the United Rentals 300 was quite an impressive result considering that it was his first Xfinity Series race, and that too at a track like the Daytona International Speedway.

Ahead of the Atlanta race, the former Supercars Championship star was asked if he was able to follow the ongoings of the competition ahead of its opening race this year. While the Kiwi admitted that he could only watch one practice session live so far due to the time difference, he insisted that he felt at home with NASCAR in the States for the time being.

“No I watched it like I got a lot of friends…drivers and team people. I watched practice 1 that was on at a decent hour, and it was a weird feeling like it’s been 17 years of driving out of pit lane with all those people, so yeah, it was a shame to miss it, but I guess I had fun. I feel like I belong here; I feel like I’ve definitely done the right thing for my career and racing enjoyment, so I’m not missing it,” the 3-time Supercars champion said.

The 34-year-old got his first Daytona experience a few days ago and dealt with it quite well. The ARCA race might not have gone to plan, but the Xfinity Series was certainly a positive result. Speaking about the experience, SVG did not mask his feelings about his debut in NASCAR’s second-tier competition.

Kiwi legend acknowledges his “different” Daytona experience

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The Kaulig Racing star said it was crazy racing around at such high speeds as he got a taste of what it’s like racing at the Daytona International Speedway. Gisbergen also admitted that he had never felt the way he did in his previous ventures in motorsports, as there is an equal chance of a driver finishing a race or crashing out at the iconic oval. It looks like he has not gotten a taste of it, and it will be interesting to see how he manages his upcoming races in NASCAR.

“It’s crazy. It’s just the style of that racing and something I have to accept. You got to run the risk of getting that good result, but you’re probably going to get into a crash. It’s an amazing mindset to go racing when it’s something I’ve never had to do before—go into a race thinking it’s 50-50 whether you crash or you don’t. It’s pretty different,” the 34-year-old said, as per NBC.

After a top-15 finish at Daytona, Shane van Gisbergen will be aiming for a top-10 this time around, and given his untenable skills, it will be interesting to see him fight some of the best the Xfinity Series has to offer on Saturday.

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