When the Tasmanian Devil, Marcos Ambrose, won his last V8 Supercars championship in 2004, SVG was only 15 years old. NASCAR’s newest Oceanic superstar had just enjoyed his first taste of a competitive podium finish as he placed third in the prestigious New Zealand Formula First Championship, winning the consecutive Rookie of the Year award.

Twenty years later, the Australian V8 superstars have combined to give the Land Down Under three victories in less than ten years of NASCAR’s premier national series experience. What Ambrose did for Australia, Shane van Gisbergen has done for New Zealand, and as the Kiwi road runner acclimatizes to his red-white-and-blue surroundings, the future looks bright. The present, on the other hand, looks a whole lot similar to the events of a gone-but-never-forgotten decade.

SVG builds the Pacific Bridge in Marcos Ambrose’s winning footsteps

SVG burst onto the NASCAR scene with a victory reminiscent of Marcos Ambrose’s 2011 Watkins Glen victory. The only difference? Shane van Gisbergen became only the seventh driver to win their debut Cup Series race, the first New Zealander ever. Driving a Richard Petty Motorsports #9 Ford, Marcos Ambrose repeated his impressive feat at the Glen one more time the following season.

Bridging not just cultures and communities but also skillsets. The two drivers from the South Pacific nations successfully crossed over Supercars pedigree onto the demanding asphalts of NASCAR. However, SVG is currently processing his own Kiwi legacy, with the weight of 5.3 million New Zealanders on his shoulders. SVG’s popularity surge for NASCAR is beneficial, and it is apparent. It was further anticipated on Barstool Sports’ NASCAR coverage podcast, RUBBIN’ IS RACING.

Co-hosts Spider and Large joined forces to quiz SVG on his perceived impact, and as Dan “Spider” DiOrio rightfully probed, “So we see America have an F1 push and F1’s feeding off this International audience that they have now. Do you think that New Zealand now has a pocket of NASCAR audience that they’re watching supporting SVG week in and week out? 

The 3x Supercars champ answered with his relatable down-to-earth charm, “Yeah, it’s on TV there now it wasn’t there last year, so it’s really cool the support I’m getting you know, people are getting up early to watch the races, and to read all the support from people it’s really cool and it was the same when Marcus Ambrose came and raced here in NASCAR. The support he got from home was great.”

The Marcos Ambrose effect is effectively running at full speed as Shane van Gisbergen prepares for his superspeedway debut at Talladega on April 20th. “The Bridge” now awaits an overflow of Oceanic talent ready in the wings to enthrall global audiences with the freshest NASCAR action.

Cam Waters: Is he the next in line?

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Cameron “Cam” Waters will be the latest NASCAR driver from across the Pacific, debuting in ThorSport Racing’s #66 Ford F-150 in the Martinsville Truck race on Saturday. Confidence breeds down under, and Waters’ latest statement regarding “the half-mile of mayhem” on Daily Express reflects exactly that fact. The 29-year-old Mildura, Victoria, native stated, “It’s a short oval so I’m sure it will be pretty wild out there. I have to thank Ford Performance and the team at ThorSport for helping make this happen…”

SVG’s impact is in full swing, albeit in the shadow of one Marcos Ambrose. The current competition director of the two-time Bathurst 24 Hours-winning team, Garry Rogers Motorsports, is an active contributor to Shane van Gisbergen’s preparations for the long journey to NASCAR excellence. Prior to his Xfinity debut at Daytona earlier this season, SVG revealed to the cast of Stacking Pennies how Ambrose provided his expert insights on battling the high banks of the illustrious 2.5-mile superspeedway on Daytona Beach, FL.

Shane Van Gisbergen Dwells on NASCAR’s “Tasmanian Devil’s” Advice Before His Much Awaited Daytona Debut

Shane van Gisbergen just missed the top 10 in that race; the following Atlanta spectacle saw him place P3 in the Raptor King of Tough 250 NXS race. Although his COTA double faced considerable difficulties, courtesy of Austin Hill and speeding penalties on pit road, SVG could very well make an Xfinity miracle magically appear at the iconic Martinsville Speedway.