Shane van Gisbergen has bestowed some helpful advice to NASCAR code switcher Austin Cindric before his Supercars debut in Adelaide in November.
With NASCAR’s priority on left hander ovals for approximately 80 per cent of their races, Cindric has admitted he needed to learn to right-foot brake again before he jumped in the Gen3 Mustang. His rival SVG was the one to remind him of this.
“I woke up about a month ago to a text from SVG, completely unsolicited; ‘Hey, if you want to be any good down there, you’ve got to right-foot brake’,” said Cindric on the Door Bumper Clear podcast.
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“It was pretty funny. I was like ‘OK, I guess there’s no secrets and second of all, thanks for the advice’.
Austin Cindric, driver of the #2 Ford and Shane Van Gisbergen, driver of the #88 Chevrolet, race during the NASCAR Cup Series. Getty
“There’s not too many secrets down there,” he added.
Cindric admitted the need for an adjustment to his driving skills to survive the Supercars pack, but said it “wouldn’t hold him back” from the challenge.
“The last time I’ve been in a race in right-foot brake is probably when I was 16 years old, so I have the skillset, it’s just not something I’ve needed to use or wanted to apply,” he said.
“But I feel like with this Gen3 car, from everyone I’ve talked to so far, it’s kind of a must with how clunky the transaxle seems to be on downshifts.
Cam Waters drives the Tickford Racing Ford Mustang in practice during the Bathurst 1000, part of the 2023 Supercars Championship Series at Mount Panorama on October 06, 2023 in Bathurst, Australia. (Photo by Morgan Hancock/Getty Images)Â Getty
“It’s a decision I’m going to have to come to, but there’s that many guys that are left-foot brakers that have had to transition as well.
“It’s something I can confidently say I’ll be able to figure out and it’s not what’s limiting me from going out and running well and having a good time.
“But it should be a fun challenge.”
In recent years, multiple drivers have transferred over from NASCAR to Supercars and vice versa after SVG’s victorious debut in Chicago 2023, including Brodie Kostecki, Will Brown, and Jack Perkins.
Who will be driving in Adelaide?
Austin Cindric will be driving the Tickford Mustang wildcard in the Supercars main game.
Xfinity champion Jesse Love will be taking on the Super2 pack with Image Racing.
Rising star Connor Zilisch was in talks to come down and join his compatriots for a wildcard drive, but plans did not follow through and the 19-year-old will need to wait for another opportunity to drive Down Under.
In 2026, NASCAR will run a 38-race season with only two weekends off in the calendar.
This means most drivers will need to wait until after the Miami season finale in November to then fly to Australia to contest the final races of the Supercars season.
Cindric will be in the paddock at Sandown to experience the Supercars atmosphere before his drive.
“It should be a really cool adventure. I’m pretty much spending a month down there after the season’s over,” Cindric said.
Austin Cindric, driver of the #2 Ford, celebrates after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500. Getty
“It’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a very long time. I’ve done the Bathurst 12 Hour twice and done some testing down there, kind of a lifetime ago, almost 10 years ago.
“I’ve stayed in touch with a lot of those contacts but through my connections with Ford and getting together with Tickford.
“Obviously it’s a great team, great car, great teammates, and one of their coolest events of their year in Adelaide.
“It’s one of their hardest tracks on the schedule, next to Bathurst… it should be really cool, though.
“Adelaide is an old F1 circuit, there’s a ton of history there and Australian race fans are super passionate about V8 Supercar racing.”
Supercars will begin their weekend in Sandown with practice on Friday, November 14 before heading to Adelaide for the final race on November 27-30.