Shane van Gisbergen breaks silence on Supercars compatriot Brodie Kostecki’s Cup debut at IMS

SVG will also make his Oval debut with Spire Motorsports in the Truck Series at Indy.

Shane van Gisbergen breaks silence on Supercars compatriot Brodie Kostecki’s Cup debut at IMS

Supercars drivers, Brodie Kostecki and Shane van Gisbgergen (Credits: Autosport)

Shane van Gisbergen, the recent victor of NASCAR’s Grant Park race in Chicago, is set to make his NASCAR oval debut at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He will share the track with fellow Supercars driver Brodie Kostecki at the iconic track. van Gisbergen shared his feelings about racing alongside the Supercars driver Brodie Kostecki at Indy.

van Gisbergen made a resounding entry onto the NASCAR Cup Series stage with an electrifying victory in Chicago. Amidst the rain-soaked downtown streets, the Australian seized a historic win in the inaugural Cup Series street race. He became the first driver to triumph in their debut, a feat untouched for over 60 years. His win earned him another shot at NASCAR at IMS racing for Trackhouse Racing’s “Project 91.”

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On the other hand, Brodie Kostecki, the current Supercars championship leader, is set to debut at the same track. He will be racing for Richard Childress Racing (RCR) in their part-time entry. An announcement came in July that Kostecki will drive the No. 33 Chevrolet sponsored by MobileX and VAILO in the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard next weekend. 

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Speaking about sharing the track with fellow V8 Supercars driver Kostecki in the upcoming race at IMS, van Gisbergen told NBC, “It’s awesome.” He added that the two have been friends for a while and “race a lot on the simulator together as well.” He feels that for Kostecki “to get this opportunity is exciting, he’s a massive NASCAR fan.” Gisbergen hopes Brodie does well and continues to bring more people across the Pacific. 

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Shane van Gisbergen at his Chicago debut win
Shane van Gisbergen at his Chicago debut win (Credits: Autosport)

Following Shane’s stunning debut at Chicago, two times Cup champion Kyle Busch feels that the Australian will mirror his performance stating, “I would say he is the favourite going in… He had us all beat by six to eight-tenths of a second a lap.” He continued, “I would say going into Indy we should all be within two to three-tenths, but he will still be the best guy.” 

Speaking about his transition from Supercars to NASCAR, van Gisbergen shared, “That just opened my eyes to how it all works, how the garages are, how the teams operate, how it’s so relaxed, but when it’s go time, the switch is flipped and it’s intense.” He added that it was a really cool style of racing and mentioned the positive attitude that American people had towards racing. The Australian described it as being really cool. 

Van Gisbergen recalled feeling initially apprehensive and admitted being a bit scared. When comparing his experience at the Chicago Street Race with the one at COTA, he observed that the Chicago Street Race hadn’t showcased as much intense racing as COTA. However, it is likely to change in the upcoming weekend. Jenson Button and Kamui Kobayashi, former Formula One driver, will make their NASCAR debut this weekend.

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