Shane van Gisbergen in the #97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet Camaro at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Image: Daylon Barr
A hangover from the COVID-19 pandemic was keeping practice to a single 20-minute hit-out before going into qualifying.
Even before moving into the NASCAR Cup Series, van Gisbergen was known for building into his Supercars weekends.
That’s almost impossible, according to Bell, who said the Trackhouse Racing driver is at an inherent disadvantage.
However, recent results in and around the top 10 have Bell convinced it won’t be long before van Gisbergen is a genuine front-runner on ovals.
“He clearly has the skillset and is a top-level talent, and I think if you give him enough experience, he’s going to figure out whatever type of racing he wants to figure out,” said the Joe Gibbs Racing driver.
“Fortunately for his competitors, and unfortunately for him, the format handicaps him tremendously.
“If he would have done this years ago when we had hours of practice and multiple sets of tyres for practice, I think he would have been a lot further along.
“The format that we race under today with one set of tyres for a 20-minute practice session I think has taken him a little bit longer to develop the oval stuff, but he’s clearly getting the hang of it.
“It’s not going to be long before he’s a factor on an oval.”
The conversation of adding more practice is one that often rears its head, though there appears to be no serious interest from NASCAR in additional track time.
In the meantime, van Gisbergen and any other graduates from lower rungs on the NASCAR ladder will have very little time to get up to speed.
Bell said he was “probably indifferent” about whether there should be more practice time, but said the biggest issue is the timing of scrutineering.
Cars pass through technical inspections prior to practice, meaning they arrive at the track already set up with very little wiggle room for adjustments.
“We have this practice session, we only have one set of tyres, which at most race tracks means you get one run in practice,” said Bell.
“With tech being before practice you don’t have the opportunity to change your car or try a different set-up.
“I’m okay with having the amount of practice that we have, but it would be nice to be able to make changes to your car before the race day.
“It seems like everybody in the industry is pretty content with the way it is, going through tech and then practicing and then going into qualifying and the race.
“It doesn’t give you an opportunity to work on your cars.
“From the standpoint of Shane, not having any time or tyre allotments is hindering him.
“For me, selfishly, I would like to be able to work on my car after practice.”
The NASCAR Cup Series continues at Darlington for the Goodyear 400 on Monday.
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