Shane van Gisbergen with his Red Bull-backed Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet Camaro.
In his 14 non-oval starts in the NASCAR Cup Series since his 2023 debut, van Gisbergen has won half.
That included a five-race streak in 2025 across Mexico City, Chicago, Sonoma, Watkins Glen, and Charlotte.
Van Gisbergen ran second to 23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick in Austin earlier this year but bounced back with an emphatic Watkins Glen win.
San Diego is the sole street circuit on this year’s calendar, replacing the downtown Chicago course.
Van Gisbergen is the short-priced favourite according to bookmakers, but believes that undersells how good his opposition is.
“It pisses me off a bit. I feel like it disrespects my competition,” said van Gisbergen.
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“I think they’re [at] a really high level. I feel like I’ve spent the last little while talking myself down because I know that there are 10 guys probably that can win on pure pace.
“In NASCAR, so much stuff can happen with strategies and stages that there are even more guys who can win.
“I don’t think it’s going to be easy, that’s for sure.”
While van Gisbergen tried to talk up his opposition, even they admitted the New Zealander would be hard to beat.
Asked who would fare well on the bumpy Naval Base Coronado course, RFK Racing driver Brad Keselowski laughed and replied, “You mean besides Shane?”
“I think Shane’s background is the ideal background, which is V8 Supercars,” he explained.
“This is kind of what they do – similar cars, similar types of tracks. That’s really what you look for is those experiences that give them the best opportunity to be successful, for sure.
“Short of that, I think Trans Am experience is pretty good. That seems to be the go-to now for the younger drivers. We’re seeing a lot of success with that.
“The experience, being in Cup, is good but not as good as it is having time in either one of those two series.”
Van Gisbergen acknowledged that he has experience on circuits like San Diego over his rivals, drawing comparisons to the likes of Homebush and Hamilton.
They weren’t necessarily glowing endorsements, however.
“This is my background,” he said of street circuit racing.
“I’ve done a lot of tracks like this and kind of know what to expect and I know how I’m going to approach practice.
“I know my competition is very good as well.
“I’ve driven at some pretty average tracks,” he laughed.
“Turn 2 is exactly like Turn 9 at Homebush with the bumps and the surface changes.
“I’ve driven on some stinkers, so this track is pretty smooth in some spots compared to some [others].
“Homebush, Hamilton, and then maybe Sebring. Yeah, Sebring is top five worst tracks I’ve ever done. It reminds me of that. This is not bad.
“There are bits that remind me of all different types of tracks I’ve done.
“The rail roads are quite new, especially how you cross them sideways. On the trackwalk yesterday, that looked like it would be tough to navigate.”
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Van Gisbergen was eighth overall in the single practice session and 0.732s off chart-topper Kyle Larson for Hendrick Motorsports.
The Kiwi admitted Trackhouse Racing made a mistake in the closing minutes of the session that prevented him from a second new tyre run.
“[The track] is a little difficult,” said van Gisbergen.
“I guess it’s so hard to hear around here, I was screaming to come in and I couldn’t hear anything so I missed a run, we missed that last set. That’s okay.
“It 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.”
NASCAR Cup Series qualifying takes place at 4am AEST on Sunday.
Results: NASCAR Cup Series Anduril 250 Race the Base, Practice
Pos
Num
Driver
Team
Lap
Diff
Gap
1
5
Kyle Larson
Hendrick Motorsports
136.588
2
34
Todd Gilliland
Front Row Motorsports
136.881
0.293
0.293
3
54
Ty Gibbs
Joe Gibbs Racing
136.924
0.336
0.043
4
88
Connor Zilisch
Trackhouse Racing
136.96
0.372
0.036
5
77
Carson Hocevar
Spire Motorsports
137.001
0.413
0.041
6
67
Corey Heim
23XI Racing
137.039
0.451
0.038
7
71
Michael McDowell
Spire Motorsports
137.284
0.696
0.245
8
97
Shane Van Gisbergen
Trackhouse Racing
137.32
0.732
0.036
9
33
Austin Hill(i)
Richard Childress Racing
137.609
1.021
0.289
10
48
Alex Bowman
Hendrick Motorsports
137.681
1.093
0.072
11
45
Tyler Reddick
23XI Racing
137.878
1.290
0.197
12
22
Joey Logano
Team Penske
137.882
1.294
0.004
13
35
Riley Herbst
23XI Racing
137.962
1.374
0.08
14
11
Denny Hamlin
Joe Gibbs Racing
138.055
1.467
0.093
15
24
William Byron
Hendrick Motorsports
138.213
1.625
0.158
16
10
Ty Dillon
Kaulig Racing
138.342
1.754
0.129
17
60
Ryan Preece
RFK Racing
138.391
1.803
0.049
18
12
Ryan Blaney
Team Penske
138.476
1.888
0.085
19
16
AJ Allmendinger
Kaulig Racing
138.629
2.041
0.153
20
23
Bubba Wallace
23XI Racing
138.633
2.045
0.004
21
9
Chase Elliott
Hendrick Motorsports
138.713
2.125
0.080
22
38
Zane Smith
Front Row Motorsports
138.819
2.231
0.106
23
19
Chase Briscoe
Joe Gibbs Racing
138.918
2.330
0.099
24
51
Cody Ware
Rick Ware Racing
139.082
2.494
0.164
25
41
Cole Custer
Haas Factory Team
139.117
2.529
0.035
26
17
Chris Buescher
RFK Racing
139.167
2.579
0.050
27
3
Austin Dillon
Richard Childress Racing
139.182
2.594
0.015
28
47
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Hyak Motorsports
139.312
2.724
0.130
29
91
Kevin Magnussen
Trackhouse Racing
139.375
2.787
0.063
30
42
John Hunter
Legacy Motor Club
139.423
2.835
0.048
31
4
Noah Gragson
Front Row Motorsports
139.47
2.882
0.047
32
1
Ross Chastain
Trackhouse Racing
139.516
2.928
0.046
33
7
Daniel Suarez
Spire Motorsports
139.693
3.105
0.177
34
21
Josh Berry
Wood Brothers Racing
140.115
3.527
0.422
35
6
Brad Keselowski
RFK Racing
140.346
3.758
0.231
36
20
Christopher Bell/Brent Crews
Joe Gibbs Racing
140.509
3.921
0.163
37
2
Austin Cindric
Team Penske
141.132
4.544
0.623
38
84
Jimmie Johnson
Legacy Motor Club
141.654
5.066
0.522
39
43
Erik Jones
Legacy Motor Club
141.851
5.263
0.197