We’ve seen versions of this movie before — a high-profile road racing specialist facing must-win playoff odds arrives at a road course where he is expected to be amongst the top contenders.
That dynamic doesn’t exist as much these days because everyone at the NASCAR Cup Series level is so proficient at turning right and left but this weekend at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez has several factors working towards Shane Van Gisbergen.
For one, this is the first race in the history of the Cup Series at the legendary Mexico City circuit, and also the first using this radically different car that is most similar to the Australian Supercars platform where he spent the past 15 years racing.
‘SVG’ is 33rd in the championship standings and is very much a work in progress during his full-time rookie season but he also won the inaugural Chicago Street Course race in 2023 in his series debut.
Is he a favorite to win the Viva Mexico 250 on Sunday?
“I don’t know, that’s your guys’ jobs, but I do know that we will be competitive if we get everything right,” Van Gisbergen said. “It’s so hard to know what the car’s going to be like – it’s a different track, how it’s going to be affected by the altitude and the surface.
“Watching those NASCAR Mexico (Series) cars drive around, they look like they’re driving on ice. It’s going to be interesting to feel what our cars are like in these conditions. But yeah, we should be up front. These are the types of tracks I’m good at, so we’ll see.”
There’s even a chance of rain all weekend, which factored into his Chicago victory, even though he personally dislikes racing on a damp track.
“I absolutely hate racing in the rain, but I’m good at it,” Van Gisbergen said. “I’d rather it didn’t rain but if it happens, we put the wets on and go.”
Wait, he hates the rain even though he’s one of the absolute best at it on two different continents.
“I just don’t enjoy it,” Van Gisbergen said. “It’s just never fun. You’re always sliding around and it just turns stuff into chaos. It’s fun to watch, but I don’t really enjoy driving.”
It’s hard to remember sometimes, for all of his accolades, that Van Gisbergen is a rookie. And even after learning the oval game last year, he has learned that the Cup Series car is radically different than its Xfinity Series counterpart.
“Yeah, it’s been definitely a big upswing the last few weeks,” Van Gisbergen. “I feel like I’ve had to start again. Last year taught me a lot and helped me get acclimated into American racing, but the cars are just chalk and cheese different.
“There’s no comparison to how they drive; how they react in the air. I feel like I’m learning everything again. I went to Nashville the other weekend and the cars drive nowhere similar. I feel like I’m not a complete rookie altogether, but the results are improving and the pace is getting better. I feel like we’re not forcing it. I’m not doing stupid stuff trying to keep up every week. I think we’re being methodical; getting better every week, learning our processes and our genuine competitiveness has gotten a lot better. We’ve been frustrated with 18th or whatever it’s been the last couple of weeks because we had potential to be at the back end of the top-10 or 15th, which is a decent result for how it’s been going. If we keep progressing on the ovals and with these road courses coming up, anything can happen. I’m relatively happy.”
He’ll be happier if he can find Victory Lane at a road course over the next three months, to negate all the points lost in the name of learning the Cup Series and oval game.
