Shane van Gisbergen ‘hates’ racing in the rain, “but I’m good at it”

Three-time Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen stunned the NASCAR world almost two years ago, the New Zealand driver winning on debut at the Chicago Street Course in a feat not seen in the Cup Series for 60+ years. 

Since then, the Kiwi has become a full-time NASCAR competitor, slowly improving on ovals, all while knowing his true chance to win his way into the playoffs would be the handful of road course races that dot the schedule. There are four road/street courses left in the regular season, but Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez shares a characteristic with SVG’s 2023 triumph that the other events do not — it’s the first time the Cup Series has ever been here.

That Chicago Street Course race was the perfect storm for Van Gisbergen, an exceptional talent on road courses. Add to that: a course no one else has experienced, plus inclement weather and he was practically unstoppable. A similar scenario is developing in Mexico City, which means we may see him finally score his second career NASCAR Cup Series win.

“It’s so hard to know what the car’s going to be like — it’s a different track, how it’s going to be affected by the altitude and the surface,” said van Gisbergen in a Friday media availability. “Watching those NASCAR Mexico cars drive around, they look like they’re driving on ice. It’s going to be interesting to feel what our cars are like in these conditions. But yeah, we should be up front. These are the types of tracks I’m good at, so we’ll see. These are the types of tracks I’m good at, so we’ll see.”

SVG is no fan of rain racing

And while you might expect him to look at the potential of a rain race with enthusiasm, it’s actually the opposite. “I absolutely hate racing in the rain, but I’m good at it. I’d rather it didn’t rain, but if it happens, we put the wets on and go.” He quickly explained that surprising mindset, adding: “I just don’t enjoy it. It’s just never fun. You’re always sliding around, and it just turns stuff into chaos. It’s fun to watch, but I don’t really enjoy driving.”

Either way, SVG said it feels a bit like a ‘holiday’ for him to be running a road course this weekend, taking a break from the ovals where he has been scratching to clawing to run better. And there has been a noticeable improvement. While he only scored one top-20 finish in the first ten oval races, he has managed to score three top-20s in the last four.

“Yeah, it’s been definitely a big upswing the last few weeks,” noted van Gisbergen. “I feel like I’ve had to start again. Last year taught me a lot and helped me get acclimated into American racing, but the cars (Xfinity versus Cup) are just chalk and cheese different. There’s no comparison to how they drive; how they react in the air. I feel like I’m learning everything again. I went to Nashville the other weekend and the cars drive nowhere similar. I feel like I’m not a complete rookie altogether, but the results are improving and the pace is getting better. I feel like we’re not forcing it. I’m not doing stupid stuff trying to keep up every week. I think we’re being methodical; getting better every week, learning our processes and our genuine competitiveness has gotten a lot better.

“We’ve been frustrated with 18th or whatever it’s been the last couple of weeks because we had potential to be at the back end of the top-10 or 15th, which is a decent result for how it’s been going. If we keep progressing on the ovals and with these road courses coming up, anything can happen. I’m relatively happy. Justin [Marks, team owner] has been amazing in supporting me and just giving me all the time I need and not putting pressure on me. It’s been really cool.”

But a win this weekend would take a lot of the pressure off, locking him into the playoffs while he continues his steep learning curve on ovals. On Friday, he was in the top ten in both practice sessions.