Shane van Gisbergen bemoans Xfinity playoff elimination despite “doing what he could” at Roval
Shane van Gisbergen lost the chance to proceed into the Round of 8 in the Xfinity series by a margin of four points.
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Shane van Gisbergen, image via Motorsport.com
So close yet so far, Shane van Gisbergen is in his first full-time Xfinity Series season in America and was in contention to become an Xfinity Series champion. Despite starting the race from pole at the Roval, he missed out on the opportunity to proceed into the R-8. This left SVG dejected and subsequently revealed how he did all he could but was unlucky to proceed through into the next round.
Shane van Gisbergen is a three-time Supercar champion in Australia and recently made the switch to the stock car racing scene in America. His last year one race wonder at Chicago shook the NASCAR world and made him a star overnight. However, he remained adamant about proving that his race win was not a fluke and took on the Xfinity Series as the first step toward getting the promotion to the Cup Series full-time.
On the other hand, his expertise around the street courses was demonstrated by his three victories around the street tracks. This made him a favorite for the championship as he has joint most wins in the 2024 season. But his efforts earlier in the season went down the drain as he missed out on getting promoted to the next round of playoffs as he remained on the playoff bubble.
Despite the heartbreak, the Kiwi expressed his gratitude towards the Kaulig Racing team for giving him the opportunity to compete in the series. Moreover, he would go on to complete the season and try to get a few more wins under his belt before moving on to the Cup Series full-time next year.
Yeah, especially how we were racing, you know I let them kind of go easy to try and minimize the damage and then my tires kind of come good because I was going easy on them and we started catching again. But you know it’s pretty tough, did what I could.
Shane van Gisbergen said in a post-race interview
Shane van Gisbergen sets his eyes on conquering the Cup Series race at Roval
Though the 35-year-old’s dreams of becoming an Xfinity Series champion were shattered at Roval, his weekend is still not over. He scored a double pole around the newly revamped track and is scheduled to lead the field in the Cup Series for the Bank of America Roval 400.
Subsequently, the Kaulig Racing driver revealed his intentions of winning the race at a track where he has the upper hand in comparison to his rivals. However, he would have to remain respectful as many drivers would be in a do-or-die situation owing to the race being an elimination round.
Just make sure we race clean you know. There’s a lot of playoff guys around me, I have to race respectfully but yeah, we’re here to win the race.
Shane van Gisbergen said in an interview
Apart from this, the criticism toward the changes made to the Roval has not stopped. Furthermore, Kyle Busch is the latest addition to the list of drivers who have made their concerns public. Thus, the SMI-owned track might go down as one of the worst tracks according to drivers, a title that any circuit would not like to boast upon.
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Geetansh Pasricha
(772 Articles Published)