![\"SVG](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Watkins-Glen-SVG.jpg\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tShane van Gisbergen in action at Watkins Glen. Image: Supplied <\/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 in action at Watkins Glen. Image: Supplied <\/p>\n
The right-foot braking technique that is commonplace in Supercars but foreign to the current breed of NASCAR regulars is the most obvious single differentiator between SVG and the field.<\/p>\n
It first made headlines when van Gisbergen won on debut at the Chicago street course in 2023 aboard a Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet that had been fitted with a TV camera in its footwell.<\/p>\n
Various NASCAR stars have tried adopting the technique since but are struggling to overcome years of muscle memory.<\/p>\n
According to the TV broadcast, Team Penske\u2019s Joey Logano began the Watkins Glen weekend right-foot braking but bailed out during practice.<\/p>\n
Teammate Austin Cindric is also known to have attempted the switch and even ran a Supercars wildcard in Adelaide last year, in part to practice the craft.<\/p>\n
Dale Earnhardt Jr put the spotlight on the situation this week via his popular Dale Jr Download podcast, featured below, outlining the perceived benefits.<\/p>\n
Manipulation of the clutch pedal theoretically allows SVG to both protect the rear tyres from the load placed on them by the drivetrain under brakes, as well as assisting turn-in.<\/p>\n
Earnhardt Jr put the case directly to van Gisbergen, who all-but dismissed the advantage and claimed \u201cpeople overthink it\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think it is a big advantage. Of course I\u2019m going to say that, but it\u2019s all I\u2019ve known,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI used to do it because you had to in a V8 Supercar.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause they would have a locked diff and you\u2019d have to run so much rear brake to make it turn, you could control the rear lock in the brake zone.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen as you got to the brake zone, the clutch would be out as you turned in and it would help the car to turn.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut in this [Next Gen Cup car], you don\u2019t need to because the diff is open. So you don\u2019t really have rear locking because you can run so much more front brake bias.\u201d<\/p>\n
Van Gisbergen\u2019s data is able to be studied closely by rivals thanks to NASCAR\u2019s open-book system called SMT.<\/p>\n
Many appear convinced that use of the clutch is the key to SVG\u2019s success, but knowing what he is doing and copying it are proving two different things.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy feet are on the wrong pedals when I do it his way,\u201d Trackhouse Racing teammate Ross Chastain said in the wake of Watkins Glen.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve learned my way and, at 33, it\u2019s tough. I can do it intentionally for like a corner or three and then I get to the next corner, the next lap and I go back to my way.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just muscle memory.\u201d<\/p>\n Right-foot braking was once commonplace at NASCAR road courses before the introduction of the modern generation of gearboxes.<\/p>\n NASCAR veteran Denny Hamlin noted this week that he was taught to road race with right-foot braking and was doing so when he won the Mexico City O\u2019Reilly encounter 20 years ago.<\/p>\n After all these years, going back is not option for Hamlin. He also doubts whether younger drivers in the NASCAR system will take it up.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s going to be really hard,\u201d he said on Actions Detrimental. \u201cI just don\u2019t see anyone coming up the ranks that are volunteering to learn that style and stick with it.\u201d<\/p>\n Trackhouse\u2019s third driver, rookie Connor Zilisch, has emerged as SVG\u2019s biggest and most consistent threat on road courses.<\/p>\n Hamlin said Zilisch, 19, is the best placed to rise to the challenge, indicating the youngster believes he can beat SVG even without the right-foot technique.<\/p>\n Zilisch, whose background includes karting and Trans Am racing, has beaten van Gisbergen in head-to-head battles in the O\u2019Reilly Series but is yet do so in the Cup car.<\/p>\n Connor Zilisch chases Shane van Gisbergen at Watkins Glen. Image: Supplied<\/p>\n He shadowed his teammate early in Sunday\u2019s Cup race and later spoke of SVG\u2019s advantage in a way that will sound familiar to the Kiwi\u2019s former Supercars rivals.<\/p>\n However he does it, making speed while protecting his tyres is the key.<\/p>\n \u201cYou never see him slipping tyres,\u201d said Zilisch.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s times where, like out of Turn 6 into Turn 7, everybody else is getting to wide open [throttle] and he\u2019s not even getting to wide open.<\/p>\n \u201cJust little things like that where he doesn\u2019t push the car beyond what it needs to be pushed.\u201d<\/p>\n That canny driving, said Zilisch, means van Gisbergen can suddenly pick up the pace as a long run unfolds.<\/p>\n \u201cWhenever people say he\u2019s toying with people\u2026 it might not even be on purpose, but he just is able to save his stuff and maintain the lead,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd then when he wants to go, he can go.\u201d<\/p>\n Van Gisbergen\u2019s first-up win on a rain-hit Chicago street course three years ago was dismissed by some as a one-off result from a perfect storm of circumstances.<\/p>\n But as he\u2019s made the full-time transition to NASCAR, first through the Xfinity (now O\u2019Reilly) Series in 2024 and then Cup from 2025, his road course form has only gotten stronger.<\/p>\n Van Gisbergen has now won six of the last seven road course races and rocketed to equal third on the all-time road course win list.<\/p>\n POLL: Is van Gisbergen the greatest ever NASCAR road racer?<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s just being consistent with my people, working with the same guys all the time now,\u201d he told Earnhardt of the continual improvement.<\/p>\n \u201cThe first years, I\u2019d just turn up and race. And then even when I was with Kaulig in \u201924, I\u2019d just turn up and not have much influence in the setup.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd last year, really, Mexico was really the first time we got outside our setup window of what we normally run and I kind of was able to guide the team a little bit.<\/p>\n \u201cThey listened and got the feeling I wanted from the car. It\u2019s been awesome trying to develop the car and get it better.\u201d<\/p>\n Two more road course races remain on this year\u2019s NASCAR schedule \u2013 the new San Diego naval base race on June 21 and the annual visit to Sonoma the following weekend.<\/p>\n For more of the latest NASCAR news and analysis, visit Speedcafe US<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Connor](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-2275501620.jpg\")
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