Shane van Gisbergen made the best of his culture shock. When the Kiwi speedster first arrived on NASCAR’s turf, he pointed out the differences with Supercars. Among them are adjusting to the seating position on the left side, the absence of doors, and left-foot braking. Despite these huge gaps, SVG has grown to be a solid contender in the NASCAR Cup Series. At the same time, his old colleagues have grown more aware of the two sports’ differences.

The NASCAR postseason begins at Darlington Raceway, with a lot of eyes on Shane van Gisbergen. The three-time Supercars champion has won four Cup races this year, all on road courses. However, according to his former rivals, SVG might have a better shot if not for crucial gaps in the NASCAR product.

The cracks are visible overseas as well

For innumerable times this season, fans and drivers have gotten exhausted with the Next-Gen car. From passing problems for race leaders to unexpected carnage, the NASCAR Cup Series continues to face the ravages of its model introduced in 2022. And now, this dilemma has caught the attention of foreign drivers as well. While the Next Gen draws inspiration from the V8 Supercar, it is different in many respects. It runs up to 200 MPH on drafting tracks, while a Supercar maxes out at 186 MPH. Then, NASCAR engines can rev up to 10,000 RPM and surpass the 7,500 RPM limit typical in Supercars. Shane van Gisbergen has evidently adapted to these variances pretty well.

However, there is scope for improvement on NASCAR’s part, as Supercars stars Elliot Barbour and Scott Pye observed. The two Aussie racers hung out with Shane van Gisbergen last weekend, watching him race at Daytona. In a recent episode of Stacking Pennies, Barbour, who has raced in Supercars, Super 2, and the TA2 Trans Am series, highlighted a key note of the superiority of Supercars. “I think the Supercars racing product, I mean obviously, only road courses, but I think the racing product is really good, like good battles.”

Then Barbour justified his claim: “I think we probably run them softer too ’cause our tire is small, especially compared to a NASCAR. I think they’re softer because we really have to look after the tire… So, Supercar is, you would describe it as overpowered, overgripped.” Indeed, the lack of tire fall-off has led many fans to call some races ‘snoozefests’ like the 2024 Fall race in Bristol.

Scott Pye, who won the British Formula 4 championship before returning to Supercars, also observed something. The increased parity due to the Next-Gen car witnesses wildcard races on drafting tracks. Hence, Pye pointed out, “Your oval racing is so competitive, like, it’s very difficult in your top 10 to pick who’s gonna win each week…At the moment, there’s obviously cars and teams that are the best. But we do have a lot of guys that are capable of running in the 10 every week.” Pye also highlighted the heavier roll cages that are designed to absorb wrecks. “You guys have a lot of barwork…’Cause you guys are going 200 MPH on superspeedways.”

These valuable insights offer a useful yardstick to compare the two sports. While they were on this humongous task, the two Supercars stars also praised their colleague.

Swooning over Shane van Gisbergen again

Of course, there is no dearth of appreciation for SVG’s skills. The Trackhouse Racing star thumped his rivals in a four-race streak, showing no signs of stopping. After winning at Mexico, Chicago, Sonoma, and Watkins Glen, Shane van Gisbergen made people wonder about his god-like road course skills. His sim racing teammate Max Verstappen once gave a pointer in this regard. He called “a crazy right-foot braker,” a reference to the so-called “heel-toe” footwork technique. A driver uses the same foot to both hit the gas (on the far right, as in a streetcar) and the brake, and that is what helps SVG excel at road courses. What is more, SVG is adept. Verstappen said in 2023, “It’s quite insane that he’s that fast with that technique.”

Similarly, Scott Pye also showered praise on his former colleague. “What probably makes him extra special compared to just all the good guys, what probably separates him, it does seem to be his like spare capacity while he’s driving the race car.” He continued about SVG, “Like even on the ovals, you don’t see him (SVG) wreck a lot for someone who’s learning. And I think that’s the awareness. It’s like things slow down for him. And I think he has the ability to do that whether it’s in a pack late in a race when you’re trying to pass someone, setting him up. I feel like Shane’s kind of had that like as long as I’ve known him, he’s had that ability to slow things down, make the right calls, processing speed as a leader.”

Evidently, Shane van Gisbergen is combining the best of both worlds. In doing so, NASCAR may take itself to another level to match its Supercars counterpart.