{"id":747981,"date":"2026-06-20T02:50:21","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T02:50:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/747981\/"},"modified":"2026-06-20T02:50:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T02:50:21","slug":"nascar-news-svg-says-perpetual-favourite-tag-disrespects-my-competition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/747981\/","title":{"rendered":"NASCAR news: SVG says perpetual favourite tag \u2018disrespects my competition\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"SVG
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tShane van Gisbergen with his Red Bull-backed Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet Camaro.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\"\"\/
<\/a><\/p>\n

In his 14 non-oval starts in the NASCAR Cup Series since his 2023 debut, van Gisbergen has won half.<\/p>\n

That included a five-race streak in 2025 across Mexico City, Chicago, Sonoma, Watkins Glen, and Charlotte.<\/p>\n

Van Gisbergen ran second to 23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick in Austin earlier this year but bounced back with an emphatic Watkins Glen win.<\/p>\n

San Diego is the sole street circuit on this year\u2019s calendar, replacing the downtown Chicago course.<\/p>\n

Van Gisbergen is the short-priced favourite according to bookmakers, but believes that undersells how good his opposition is.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt pisses me off a bit. I feel like it disrespects my competition,\u201d said van Gisbergen.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think they\u2019re [at] a really high level. I feel like I\u2019ve spent the last little while talking myself down because I know that there are 10 guys probably that can win on pure pace.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn NASCAR, so much stuff can happen with strategies and stages that there are even more guys who can win.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s going to be easy, that\u2019s for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

While van Gisbergen tried to talk up his opposition, even they admitted the New Zealander would be hard to beat.<\/p>\n

Asked who would fare well on the bumpy Naval Base Coronado course, RFK Racing driver Brad Keselowski laughed and replied, \u201cYou mean besides Shane?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Shane\u2019s background is the ideal background, which is V8 Supercars,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is kind of what they do \u2013 similar cars, similar types of tracks. That\u2019s really what you look for is those experiences that give them the best opportunity to be successful, for sure.<\/p>\n

\u201cShort of that, I think Trans Am experience is pretty good. That seems to be the go-to now for the younger drivers. We\u2019re seeing a lot of success with that.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe experience, being in Cup, is good but not as good as it is having time in either one of those two series.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Van Gisbergen acknowledged that he has experience on circuits like San Diego over his rivals, drawing comparisons to the likes of Homebush and Hamilton.<\/p>\n

They weren\u2019t necessarily glowing endorsements, however.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is my background,\u201d he said of street circuit racing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve done a lot of tracks like this and kind of know what to expect and I know how I\u2019m going to approach practice.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know my competition is very good as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve driven at some pretty average tracks,\u201d he laughed.<\/p>\n

\u201cTurn 2 is exactly like Turn 9 at Homebush with the bumps and the surface changes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve driven on some stinkers, so this track is pretty smooth in some spots compared to some [others].<\/p>\n

\u201cHomebush, Hamilton, and then maybe Sebring. Yeah, Sebring is top five worst tracks I\u2019ve ever done. It reminds me of that. This is not bad.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are bits that remind me of all different types of tracks I\u2019ve done.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe rail roads are quite new, especially how you cross them sideways. On the trackwalk yesterday, that looked like it would be tough to navigate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Supercars chasing NASCAR demo race on Australian soil<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Van Gisbergen was eighth overall in the single practice session and 0.732s off chart-topper Kyle Larson for Hendrick Motorsports.<\/p>\n

The Kiwi admitted Trackhouse Racing made a mistake in the closing minutes of the session that prevented him from a second new tyre run.<\/p>\n

\u201c[The track] is a little difficult,\u201d said van Gisbergen.<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess it\u2019s so hard to hear around here, I was screaming to come in and I couldn\u2019t hear anything so I missed a run, we missed that last set. That\u2019s okay.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was surprising how much [tyre] fall-off there was. I feel like I was slow but I guess everyone else was too. It feels like the (Charlotte) ROVAL where they only last two or three laps.\u201d<\/p>\n

NASCAR Cup Series qualifying takes place at 4am AEST on Sunday.<\/p>\n

Results: NASCAR Cup Series Anduril 250 Race the Base, Practice<\/p>\n

Pos
\nNum
\nDriver
\nTeam
\nLap
\nDiff
\nGap<\/p>\n

1
\n5
\nKyle Larson
\nHendrick Motorsports
\n136.588<\/p>\n

2
\n34
\nTodd Gilliland
\nFront Row Motorsports
\n136.881
\n0.293
\n0.293<\/p>\n

3
\n54
\nTy Gibbs
\nJoe Gibbs Racing
\n136.924
\n0.336
\n0.043<\/p>\n

4
\n88
\nConnor Zilisch
\nTrackhouse Racing
\n136.96
\n0.372
\n0.036<\/p>\n

5
\n77
\nCarson Hocevar
\nSpire Motorsports
\n137.001
\n0.413
\n0.041<\/p>\n

6
\n67
\nCorey Heim
\n23XI Racing
\n137.039
\n0.451
\n0.038<\/p>\n

7
\n71
\nMichael McDowell
\nSpire Motorsports
\n137.284
\n0.696
\n0.245<\/p>\n

8
\n97
\nShane Van Gisbergen
\nTrackhouse Racing
\n137.32
\n0.732
\n0.036<\/p>\n

9
\n33
\nAustin Hill(i)
\nRichard Childress Racing
\n137.609
\n1.021
\n0.289<\/p>\n

10
\n48
\nAlex Bowman
\nHendrick Motorsports
\n137.681
\n1.093
\n0.072<\/p>\n

11
\n45
\nTyler Reddick
\n23XI Racing
\n137.878
\n1.290
\n0.197<\/p>\n

12
\n22
\nJoey Logano
\nTeam Penske
\n137.882
\n1.294
\n0.004<\/p>\n

13
\n35
\nRiley Herbst
\n23XI Racing
\n137.962
\n1.374
\n0.08<\/p>\n

14
\n11
\nDenny Hamlin
\nJoe Gibbs Racing
\n138.055
\n1.467
\n0.093<\/p>\n

15
\n24
\nWilliam Byron
\nHendrick Motorsports
\n138.213
\n1.625
\n0.158<\/p>\n

16
\n10
\nTy Dillon
\nKaulig Racing
\n138.342
\n1.754
\n0.129<\/p>\n

17
\n60
\nRyan Preece
\nRFK Racing
\n138.391
\n1.803
\n0.049<\/p>\n

18
\n12
\nRyan Blaney
\nTeam Penske
\n138.476
\n1.888
\n0.085<\/p>\n

19
\n16
\nAJ Allmendinger
\nKaulig Racing
\n138.629
\n2.041
\n0.153<\/p>\n

20
\n23
\nBubba Wallace
\n23XI Racing
\n138.633
\n2.045
\n0.004<\/p>\n

21
\n9
\nChase Elliott
\nHendrick Motorsports
\n138.713
\n2.125
\n0.080<\/p>\n

22
\n38
\nZane Smith
\nFront Row Motorsports
\n138.819
\n2.231
\n0.106<\/p>\n

23
\n19
\nChase Briscoe
\nJoe Gibbs Racing
\n138.918
\n2.330
\n0.099<\/p>\n

24
\n51
\nCody Ware
\nRick Ware Racing
\n139.082
\n2.494
\n0.164<\/p>\n

25
\n41
\nCole Custer
\nHaas Factory Team
\n139.117
\n2.529
\n0.035<\/p>\n

26
\n17
\nChris Buescher
\nRFK Racing
\n139.167
\n2.579
\n0.050<\/p>\n

27
\n3
\nAustin Dillon
\nRichard Childress Racing
\n139.182
\n2.594
\n0.015<\/p>\n

28
\n47
\nRicky Stenhouse Jr.
\nHyak Motorsports
\n139.312
\n2.724
\n0.130<\/p>\n

29
\n91
\nKevin Magnussen
\nTrackhouse Racing
\n139.375
\n2.787
\n0.063<\/p>\n

30
\n42
\nJohn Hunter
\nLegacy Motor Club
\n139.423
\n2.835
\n0.048<\/p>\n

31
\n4
\nNoah Gragson
\nFront Row Motorsports
\n139.47
\n2.882
\n0.047<\/p>\n

32
\n1
\nRoss Chastain
\nTrackhouse Racing
\n139.516
\n2.928
\n0.046<\/p>\n

33
\n7
\nDaniel Suarez
\nSpire Motorsports
\n139.693
\n3.105
\n0.177<\/p>\n

34
\n21
\nJosh Berry
\nWood Brothers Racing
\n140.115
\n3.527
\n0.422<\/p>\n

35
\n6
\nBrad Keselowski
\nRFK Racing
\n140.346
\n3.758
\n0.231<\/p>\n

36
\n20
\nChristopher Bell\/Brent Crews
\nJoe Gibbs Racing
\n140.509
\n3.921
\n0.163<\/p>\n

37
\n2
\nAustin Cindric
\nTeam Penske
\n141.132
\n4.544
\n0.623<\/p>\n

38
\n84
\nJimmie Johnson
\nLegacy Motor Club
\n141.654
\n5.066
\n0.522<\/p>\n

39
\n43
\nErik Jones
\nLegacy Motor Club
\n141.851
\n5.263
\n0.197<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Shane van Gisbergen with his Red Bull-backed Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet Camaro. In his 14 non-oval starts in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":747982,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[572],"tags":[64,63,806,805,803,804,9909,9910,85],"class_list":["post-747981","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-motosport","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-motor","tag-motor-sports","tag-motosport","tag-motosports","tag-shane-van-gisbergen","tag-slot2","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/747981","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=747981"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/747981\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/747982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=747981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=747981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=747981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}