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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tShane van Gisbergen (left) with Trackhouse Racing teammate Connor Zilisch.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tShane van Gisbergen (left) with Trackhouse Racing teammate Connor Zilisch.<\/p>\n
In the film \u2018Days of Thunder\u2019, there\u2019s an iconic scene where Cole Trickle bemoans his lack of car knowledge with crew chief Harry Hogge.<\/p>\n
Trickle, a former USAC driver, tries to man-handle his Chevrolet Lumina without much luck, leaving him puzzled.<\/p>\n
\u201cHer ass is all over the place,\u201d cries Trickle, who is played by Tom Cruise.<\/p>\n
Hogge, played by Golden Globe winner Robert Duvall, replies: \u201cWhen the rear end\u2019s loose, the car\u2019s fast. Loose is fast and on the edge of out of control.\u201d<\/p>\n
Van Gisbergen recalled one of his first speedway experiences in the NASCAR Xfinity Series that made him realise just how steep the learning curve would be.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was pretty open minded coming into it and had no expectations or feeling what it would be like,\u201d said van Gisbergen on the latest KTM Summer Grill episode.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven in Xfinity last year, the first time I did Vegas, I pitted straight away just going, \u2018the car\u2019s undrivable. It\u2019s loose\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I didn\u2019t realize, there\u2019s a bolt in the left rear that they leave loose on purpose to have the car flex, and the diff flex.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou land in the corner and the load just changes the rear toe completely, and the car skews out.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought, \u2018Oh, I\u2019m just loose\u2019, but I corrected it, and it shot me straight up to the wall. Like the tyres were gripped up, and it wasn\u2019t drifting.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven the Cup car, the way the rear is when you bounce, the rear bounces out \u2013 the toe steer \u2013 It\u2019s just sensations that you don\u2019t ever feel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Like Trickle, van Gisbergen has had to learn all about turn, wedge and other stock car-specific terminology \u2013 trusting that the adjustments his team make are to his benefit.<\/p>\n
Though there are some similarities between the Gen3 Supercar and the Next Gen stock car, the two cars are ultimately poles apart.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re thinking of ball sports, it\u2019s like going from rugby to cricket \u2013 You know, you\u2019re still playing with a ball, but it\u2019s just so different,\u201d van Gisbergen explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust the way the car handles and feels. You\u2019re set up only to turn one way.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe way the banking feels, and the way the car transitions, and just so many sensations that are new to me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou just drive into these corners and six months ago, even nine months ago, it didn\u2019t seem possible that a car would work like that.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve got 30 years of my ass telling me that the car\u2019s sideways and losing the rear, but that\u2019s just the way the bump steer is and the cars yawed out.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve got to ignore my bum and just trust my hands and let the air save the car. It\u2019s just so different to any other racing that I\u2019ve done around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
For more of the latest NASCAR news stories, visit MotorRacing.com<\/a><\/p>\n
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