Van Gisbergen, who is the favourite to win the race, said it was a cool opportunity to mingle with the All Whites players and that the World Cup had helped him get back into watching the sport.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven overseas, watching each other overseas, you always support your Kiwis,\u201d van Gisbergen said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was really cool to go into their camp last week and see them all preparing and then, man, I haven\u2019t really watched a football game for a while and on the weekend I was into it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was so cool to watch. There was a lot of pressure and I thought they did well. I\u2019ll be supporting them all in the next few weeks and hopefully further than that too.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the All Whites, it had a similar effect, with defender Nando Pijnaker saying it was special to be part of the Nascar experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s amazing. It\u2019s really cool to be able to get out of camp for a little bit and experience what Shane\u2019s up to after having him in our camp last week,\u201d Pijnaker said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s amazing to be able to see his field, where he excels, after he\u2019s come to our place. Now we get to go and see what he\u2019s up to.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since joining Nascar, van Gisbergen has adopted the tradition of kicking a rugby ball into the stands, and he is considering changing things up should he claim the chequered flag on Monday morning by kicking a football instead.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat could be cool to change, but you\u2019ve got to be fortunate enough to win,\u201d van Gisbergen said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWatch this space. That would be a pretty cool time of year to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The All Whites fly to Vancouver on Saturday (local time) for their second Group G World Cup match against Egypt on Monday afternoon.<\/p>\n