NASCAR
DARLINGTON, S.C. – Shane van Gisbergen finished 15th in his first race at Darlington Raceway on Saturday.
The New Zealand native was one of a few drivers who took the NASCAR Xfinity Series green flag with zero prior laps on the track ‘Too Tough to Tame.’ Nevertheless, SVG brought the No. 97 Kaulig Racing machine back home in one piece.
“People didn’t really fly themselves in,” van Gisbergen said post-race. “Everyone just goes flat out. I needed a bit of time there to just learn. I dropped back a fair way but kept it straight and when I was comfortable, kept going faster and faster…I don’t think many people expected that and neither did I. I didn’t know where I was going to be. I’m pretty stoked with that.”
Any driver heading into Darlington for the first time hears about how different this place is compared to anywhere else on the schedule. Post-race, SVG called Darlington the “lowest grip surface” he’s raced on thus far, adding it also had the highest tire degradation. According to van Gisbergen, sim can’t even do this place justice.
“Not at all,” SVG said about how accurate simulation is to help prepare for Darlington. “I still use the sim a lot, but not as much as I was at the start of the year. These races are so different from a sim. Being on track is the best thing you can do.”
Full Video Interview post-race:
Written by Noah Lewis
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