Shane van Gisbergen is ready to kick off his 2024 campaign, running seven Cup races for Kaulig Racing. And yes, you guessed it. He will be participating in NASCAR’s first road course race, the Circuit of the Americas in Austin. The Kiwi road runner’s prowess was on full display with his historic Grant Park 220 victory in July 2023, a race where he made his first-ever NASCAR start. This feat resulted in SVG becoming only the seventh driver in history to win a Cup Series race on their debut.

However, many wonder if the New Zealand driver can truly step out of his “comfort zone” of the V8 Supercars and into American “stock-car racing.” A closer look at his Xfinity starts this season with the #97 of Kaulig, which reveals SVG is slowly coming to grips. He secured a P6 finish at Phoenix while registering his first podium in the NXS Raptor King after finishing 3rd behind Chandler Smith and race-winner Austin Hill at Atlanta. Can SVG capitalize on this form and win his second race in just three starts in the NASCAR Cup Series? COTA’s familiar “twists and turns” certainly have the Kiwi in a good mood.

“Everything’s New” claims an excited Shane van Gisbergen

Before his Austin advance, Shane van Gisbergen spoke to Bob Pockrass of FOX, and he seemed very confident when asked about having any second thoughts. “No,” declared SVG. “It’s been awesome, every moment. All the people have been nice and the racing has been good, and I just, the feeling of putting my helmet on, every week, being nervous and not having anticipation and you know just, not knowing what’s happening. It’s a cool feeling. I like being out of my comfort zone at the moment.”

The 3-time Supercars champ shrugged away all ideas of cold feet with the utmost confidence. Pockrass then followed up with another question about Shane van Gisbergen’s Supercar pedigree helping himself “revitalize a little bit.” The veteran circuit superstar spoke about his rapidly shifting fortunes, “It has.” He continued, “Yeah, I still love supercars, you know, the big advance and stuff, but some of it would be pretty repetitive, and the same after you’re doing it so long.” 

Nevertheless, he concluded his answer by acknowledging Sunday’s challenge, saying, “Just come out here, everything’s new, every track’s new, all the competitors, the cars. Yeah, sometimes change is good.” In terms of his move across the Pacific, “change” has indeed been good for Kaulig’s #16. But in the face of his 2013 outing at Supercars’ first event in the United States on the very same COTA circuit, how much has truly changed for Shane van Gisbergen?

A familiar COTA alongside a friendly rival

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The first time SVG raced on American asphalt, the Australian series brought out their V8s for four races of the Austin 400 for the very first time. His first of the four races resulted in a disappointing P26 fallout. The next two saw SVG claim back-to-back P5 finishes, and in his final race at the Texas road track, he even claimed an impressive podium finish at P3. 7x Supercars champ Jamie Whincup won this unique four-part event, as he secured 3 out of 4 wins at COTA, albeit on a shorter 2.29-mile “National Circuit” layout.

The Echopark Automotive Grand Prix will roll out on the original 3.426-mile circuit, and it will be interesting to see how SVG tackles this “mile” difference. His recent appearance on Kevin Harvick’s “Happy Hour” revealed that he has “struggled on the sim… with the track limits.” That will be just one of the many challenges involved, as the Kiwi star gets ready to test out these “track limits” firsthand.

Additionally, an integral challenge emerges from within Kaulig Racing, as the ex-driver of the #16, A.J. Allmendinger, now manning the #13 Chevrolet, has two victories at the Texas road course, although in the Xfinity Series. Nevertheless, out of 17 wins for The Dinger in NASCAR, 15 have come on circuit courses. The #13 and #16 certainly look like strong contenders coming into COTA, but will Kaulig Racing make a mark? We find out this weekend.

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