Shane van Gisbergen is arguably the most appreciated foreign race car driver in NASCAR. Bursting onto the NASCAR scene, the Kiwi speedster created history by winning his first-ever Cup Series race in the Chicago Street race, last year. However, his cameo run soon turned into a full-time feature this season, driving for Kaulig Racing in the Xfinity Series. And this move has prompted more Supercars drivers to follow in his footsteps.

This is exactly what happened as his replacement driver from the Triple Eight Race Engineering team, Will Brown, will be making his Cup debut at Sonoma Raceway with Richard Childress Racing. Interestingly, according to a report by Speed Cafe, Shane van Gisbergen will be there to aid his former rival driver as his secondary spotter for his debut NASCAR run.

Brown will have a familiar face to help him kickstart his NASCAR chapter

Not only Brown, but Cam Waters will also make his Cup Series debut with RFK Racing at Sonoma. Shane van Gisbergen will be competing in the Xfinity race, driving the Kaulig Racing No. 97 car. It will be interesting to see the Supercars drivers have a go at each other in their first-ever Cup Series race.

Sharing his excitement to race alongside his rival, Waters said, “Obviously, I have done two Truck races which has been a massive experience and a massive eye-opener. I was super pumped and then when I heard Will was doing it, I was just a little bit more excited again. They race pretty wild over there so hopefully we look after each other!” Waters was quoted via Supercars Championship.

Sharing a similar sentiment of not trying to run into each other, Brown went on to add, “I started talking to Cam, and he said he’s doing it as well and I thought ‘that will be pretty cool. Hopefully, we can have a good race over there and have a good time.”

It would have been quite a show if Shane van Gisbergen could have made it in the Cup race at Sonoma Raceway. That would result in a three-way battle between the rival Supercars drivers, but unfortunately, SVG would only be able to contribute in his role as a secondary spotter for Will Brown. However, fans were appreciative of SVG’s gesture and took to social media to share their views on his newfound role.

Fans react to Shane van Gisgerbergen’s duty as a NASCAR spotter

SVG has a knack for adapting to new career roles and also aceing them. After winning his three Supercars Championships and nailing his debut Cup run at Chicago, it looks like he has now set his sights on honing the skills of a spotter. Surprised to see him take on multiple challenges, a fan wrote, “Is there anything SVG can’t do?”

Funny how auto-racing changes for drivers when they move to a different part of the world. In recent years, SVG, Cam Waters, and Will Brown have competed against each other to bag the title of best driver in the Supercars Championship. But now, it looks like they are looking out for each other in NASCAR. “Crazy how helpful they are all being the each other as V8 alumni”.

However, this wasn’t the first instance where rival drivers have come to each other’s aid, and a Reddit user pointed this out. “A driver being a spotter isn’t a new thing to me. Last year at the Bristol Dirt Truck race, Blaney was the spotter for Logano’s 66,” they commented.

Meanwhile, others were left frustrated to not see SVG in the Cup car at Sonoma. “Why isn’t SVG in a cup car at Sonoma?” This is because the Kiwi Speedster is locked in for seven Cup races with his parent team, the Trackhouse Racing. And the Sonoma race isn’t a part of his Cup racing schedule for 2024.

Luckily, fans will be able to see him get back inside the No. 16 Trackhouse Racing car this weekend for the Coca-Cola 600 race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.