Trackhouse Racing’s Project 91 efforts paid off when Kimi Raikkonen made his historic NASCAR switch on the hallowed turns of Watkins Glen, albeit finishing 37th after crashing out on Lap 45. He raced one more time at the Circuit of the Americas just last year. In May, the Justin Marks and Armando “Pitbull” Perez-owned organization announced that 3x Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen would take over the #91 duties from the F1 icon, and he did so in an extraordinary fashion.

After taking home the inaugural Grant Park 220 (171.6 due to rain!) trophy, SVG raced at the Brickyard in Indiana, enthralling viewers with his extensive road course experience spanning over two decades, eventually helping him round off the top 10. Now, waiting for Sunday, the Kiwi superstar prepares for his first-ever NASCAR double at the Austin road course. He has already placed himself in the second-best spot for a result in his fourth Xfinity race. However, it seems like the “static sim” at Trackhouse Racing got SVG “sick” before his incredible COTA feat.

Shane van Gisbergen on the difference between the Xfinity car and the Cup car

Earlier, Hendrick Motorsports’ own double-duty star Kyle Larson and his #17 bested SVG’s Trackhouse-backed #97 Camaro for Kaulig Racing in the qualifiers by mere milliseconds. The double-duty stars will start next to each other on the front row for the Focused Health 250 NXS race. Before their battle, SVG was asked in pre-race press conferences about his preparations for the double. With his signature New Zealand charm, the veteran road ringer stated: “It’s been pretty cool to prep this week, very different again to be turning right I guess, so yeah, it’s pretty exciting.”

He went on to reveal his almost unnoticeable “grievance” while making an astute observation: “Sick of the simulator and ready to drive a real car but just excited to see what it feels like. The Xfinity car is going to be a big Challenge and then the Cup car kind of feels a bit more normal, but yeah have to relearn it again.” 

Shane van Gisbergen was certainly “excited.” However, as he mentioned the obvious when he said, “Season’s been going well so far, and the results are pretty um above what I thought it’d be, so yeah it’s been pleasantly surprising, and just mainly really enjoying myself.” He certainly seems to be, and that has indeed been reflected in his last four Xfinity results. A closer look will reveal two top-10 finishes while placing third in just his second race in the second-tier series. 

Slowly coming to grips with the ovals, SVG will now come back to the familiar twists at COTA, following his four-race Supercars run in 2013. It has been over a decade since the Australian V8s made their first and last American visit to the 3.426-mile circuit. However, Trackhouse Racing’s global “project” has emerged as an active supporter of Shane van Gisbergen’s COTA pursuits.

Project 91 lives on for the Trackhouse Racing

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Although the #91 charter still stands with a TBA status and Kaulig Racing is fielding both of SVG’s Chevrolets for the double, Trackhouse has been playing the part to help the Kiwi road star get “accustomed” to his newer “environment.”

When answering another question, SVG explained Trackhouse Racing’s constant backing: “Just double, you know, and then I did a little bit at Trackhouse on the static Sim, just going back and forth, mainly on the gear shifting, just going from sequential back to H pattern, just to not make mistakes you know, we’ve seen guys do that in the past.” The Kiwi star looks to be grabbing a hold of the “no-track-limits” style racing on display at NASCAR’s road course events.

This was evident in the qualifiers, however, a lot of things change when a driver battles against 38 others on race day. Nevertheless, recent displays are evidence that SVG is only settling into the demands of NASCAR racing. He explained his observed differences, when he said, “But I think the gears and the shift points are quite different, so shouldn’t have any problem there but um yeah it’s not going to be easy.”

It certainly won’t be easy in the face of a new pursuit, but the Trackhouse Racing can rest assured knowing they have built an exciting team for years to come.

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