The last two weeks have been nothing short of a delight for Shane van Gisbergen as NASCAR has made rounds of road courses. With ample road course experience under his belt, the New Zealander has dominated the NASCAR grid and totaled his win count this season to three. However, after its road course stints, NASCAR is set to return to a traditional speedway.
Dover Motor Speedway is a tricky circuit, and with van Gisbergen’s record on speedways, all eyes will be on him. With only a handful of days until the Dover contest, the No. 88 driver reflected on his expectations from the track while chatting with Dale Earnhardt Jr.
How Does Van Gisbergen View His Upcoming Dover Challenge?
On the latest episode of ‘Dale Jr. Download,’ the NASCAR Hall of Famer invited van Gisbergen for a brief segment. The two began by breaking down the Australian driver’s challenges at ovals.
When Earnhardt asked van Gisbergen to detail his expectations from the one-mile oval, the latter mentioned he was excited about returning to ovals after the road course action.
He began, “Dover should be good. I struggled there last year. I remember all the Kaulig guys were battling for 20th. We’re all battling with our cars, but I had fun.”
He called the track “epic,” and continued, “It’s just amazing how fast you can go into that corner. It feels like you’re dropping, and then all of a sudden, you’re just loading up in the banking. The load around that track and how much grip it has is mind-blowing.”
Beyond Dover, van Gisbergen also expressed excitement about the Indianapolis race the following week. He added, “Looking forward to Indianapolis, too. I ran well there in Xfinity last year. It was a really fun track. Since it was with restricted plates, it would be a bit different this year, but yeah, just looking forward to continuing to learn, get back into the challenge, and try to get better.”
What Is Van Gisbergen’s Biggest Obstacle on Ovals?
When Earnhardt asked the Trackhouse Racing driver to elaborate on his biggest challenge on ovals, he responded by highlighting the limited practice time. He said: “The practice will start, and it’ll be just on the bottom. You’ll be running your line as fast as you can and doing the qualifying line, just going hammer and tongs. For me, by the time I get up to speed, the peak of the tire is gone.”
However, he noted that the race scenario was quite different from the practice session. With the fresh track rubber, the tires acted differently. He even mentioned, “This tire hates itself. When the rubber goes down, the rubber’s bad.”
Van Gisbergen even pointed out that the continuous cycle of concrete ovals like Dover changing color due to rubber and tire wear is unique to NASCAR and does not exist in any other racing format.
“There’s no other series I’ve ever been a part of that does it. How variable the grip is, and it’s not just one line the whole time. The line’s always changing. You’re always trying to find that speed,” he concluded.