Shane van Gisbergen Racing Photo
NASCAR CUP SERIES SAN DIEGO STREET COURSE TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES
Shane van Gisbergen, driver of the No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet,
met with the media in advance of the NASCAR race weekend in San Diego at
Naval Base Coronado.
You around this facility last week when it was being constructed. Now
you’ve had a chance to actually get on a completed track, at least by
foot. What are your thoughts so far?
“Yeah, it looks wild. Watching practice is wild. It’s amazing what
they’ve done in a week. Coming out here last Tuesday, I think it was,
and half the track wasn’t really even built, so it’s been pretty amazing
to see how it turned out.
Yeah, it looks cool. The track walk was interesting. And then watching
the trucks driving now, it’s very different to how it looked. It seems
to be evolving, getting faster and faster. Obviously, it’s bumpy, which
everyone seems to be commenting on. And then the risk versus reward
looks off the charts, seeing even the guy doing the pole lap there
crashed across the line. And then Justin Marks having an issue, as
well. It looks very difficult.”
When you come to a place and you see that it’s going to be challenging,
does that give you confidence, actually, because you’re so good on road
courses and have that experience? Do you feel like that’s actually an
edge for you?
“Yeah, I mean, watching people crash isn’t fun. Yeah, like there’s a lot of
good drivers. I mean, like I know those guys are good, and seeing what
trouble they’re having makes me know it’s going to be very difficult.
And then seeing all the different surfaces, like that concrete where
they’re all crashing now, looks very grippy, but obviously it’s not. So
yeah, it looks tough. But yeah, I guess this is my background. I’ve done
a lot of tracks like this and kind of know what to expect I know how I’m
going to approach practice. But I know my competition is very good, as
well.”
Everybody, including all the fans, everybody is picking you to win. Does
that give you more pressure coming in here or does it give you more
confidence?
“It pisses me off a bit, like I feel like it disrespects my
competition. I hold my competition to a really high level. So yeah, I
feel like I’ve spent the last little while talking myself down because I
know that there’s 10 guys probably that can win on pure pace. In NASCAR,
so much stuff can happen with strategies and stages, that there’s even
more guys who can win. So I don’t think it’s going to be easy, that’s
for sure.”
We had Kevin Magnussen in here earlier this morning. Certainly, with his
resume and background, for him to say that this is the most extreme
track he will have ever driven in his career says a lot. Based on what
you saw before driving it in your track walk, is that your expectation
too?
“No, I’ve driven on some pretty average tracks. Turn two is exactly
like turn nine at Homebush with the bumps and the surface changes. So
yeah, I’ve driven on some stinkers, so this track is pretty smooth in
some spots compared to some.”
That was actually my follow-up, as I imagine you’ve driven some pretty
extreme racetracks too…
“Yeah, Homebush, Hamilton, and then maybe Sebring. Yeah, Sebring’s
top five worst tracks I’ve ever done, and it reminds me of that. So
yeah, this is not bad.”
Have you ever been launched in a race car the way it looks like you kind
of come off there on turn one too?
“Yeah, Hamilton chicane, that was really bad. There’s bits that remind
me of all the different types of tracks I’ve done. The railroad is
probably quite new, especially how you cross them sideways. It looks
like they did some work overnight, so it might be better today. But at
the track walk yesterday, that looked like it was going to be tough to
navigate.”
Where are the trouble spots when you’re in a sim versus when you’re
doing the track walk? What are you looking for when you’re going through
it, and how will you prepare for that once you get on the track in a
car?
Yeah, “I mean the trouble spots, you start at one and count to 16. Every
corner looks like someone’s had an issue. Every single section has its
own problem, and I think I’ve seen someone make an error or do something
wrong at each one.
So yeah, every corner looks difficult, and I don’t think there’s a
possibility to do a perfect lap here. Qualifying tomorrow is amazing.
The first lap of the track, the first three corners, we’re not going to
have done before. You know, we’re not going to have seen them that day,
and the lap starts for them. I find that always fascinating and
difficult in NASCAR, and I think tomorrow’s qualifying is going to be
crazy. You see it now with the red flags and people trying to get clear
laps, so it’s going to be really hard to execute.”
NASCAR did work on the crane rails it looked like overnight, but is
there anything else from what you’ve seen in Truck practice or the track
walk that you’d like them to do before your practice or by tomorrow or
Sunday?
“Yeah, I think there was some discussion about the wall leading up to
the pit lane, how it veers to the right, and then you’ve got this pit
lane kind of sticking out. It won’t be trouble in practice, but I can
see that being an issue in the race, so hopefully they maybe pull that
wall to the right. But the rest of it looks fine, and everyone will have
the same challenges.”
I talked to Scott McLaughlin earlier this week, and he said that you’d
invite him in over to race something remote-controlled. I was going to
ask you a little bit more about that and your friendship with him.
“Yeah, it’s been awesome the last few years moving here and being
friends with him again. It’s cool to see him improving a lot this
year. We just built a little dirt oval at home and race RC sprint cars
every couple of weeks.”
He said he was going to be tuning in and watching you this weekend. He
said you’re the favorite in his eyes, and that got me thinking a little
more about just the eyeballs that are on you. You’ve got a lot of fans
and friends, I would assume, tuning in from a variety of time zones.
Just what do you want to say to all your supporters who are going to
make the effort to watch you this weekend?
Yeah, it’s awesome. The west coast races is a little bit better on the
time zone, as well. I’ve got a lot of Kiwi friends coming for this week,
two west coast races, and it’s a bit easier to get to. So, yeah, it’s
really cool to have some support and have some friends here. It’s
always amazing how many people tune in on a Monday morning there.”
Along those lines, actually, I saw that you met some of the World Cup
players. Are you following that closely, following the New Zealand team?
“Yeah, I hadn’t watched soccer in a while, and then I was screaming at
the TV the other night, so that was awesome. And then, hopefully, our
race is all wrapped up before Sunday night and I can watch it again. I
think Kiwi’s, we sort of bat above our weight for how big our country
is, and when we’re on the world stage, we will support each other, which
is really cool.”
I know we’re still on the other side of the world, but this is probably
the closest we’re going to get in the continental United States on the
NASCAR side. Is there a little bit more of a pride factor with that,
maybe?
“I mean, it’s still a 12-hour flight to home, so we’re nowhere close
(laughs). It’s cool that it’s accessible or easier for people to get to.
But yeah, I still feel like I’m on the other side of the world.”
You got to have some time with some of the sailors here, the service
members. What was that like? I mean, especially being someone from New
Zealand, kind of coming into a U.S. base like that.
“Yeah, it’s a bit odd for me, but it’s cool to see. As I said the
other day, it’s amazing what they’ve done to build this place in a week.
Driving over the bridge this morning was pretty cool. You know, looking
around and seeing where we’re going to go racing. It’s a pretty special
event that NASCAR’s and the Navy put on for us. I’m proud to be part
of this one.”
I know it may depend on what happens in practice and qualifying, but
what might tonight be like for you afterwards in terms of taking a look
at what happened in practice and preparing for qualifying? Is it going
to be any different than any other night before a race, per se?
“Yeah, it’ll be like Mexico, where it was an open practice, so we can
finish today and we can make changes to our setup; see if there’s anyone
faster, what they’re running and maybe adapt to that. But yeah, tonight
will just be a full study night, really, and trying to prepare for that
one flyer tomorrow. It’ll be just trying to dissect what we learned
today.”
What does full study mean for those of us who don’t do what you do?
“Yeah, I guess it’ll be like SMT. If there’s any onboards on the broadcast,
I’ll probably rewatch the broadcast, and then try and listen to what
other guys say about their race, too.”
I know Justin Marks hasn’t had the smoothest day so far. It’s been a
while since he’s been in the car, so has there been any discussions
between you and him about just getting back behind the wheel?
“Yeah, it’s cool to see that fire in his eyes. Speaking to him
yesterday and today, you’re talking to him as a race car driver, which
is really cool. I was standing on the wall at the last corner today
watching before the garage opened, and then I went down the pit lane and
had a chat with him after his first practice. Race driver Justin, it’s
completely different, and it’s cool to see him doing it. He seems really
enthused. Hopefully they’ve got a good backup truck and they can have
a good race. It’ll be fun to cheer them on tonight.”
Tomorrow you’re going to be in the first group of qualifying. You
mentioned the risk-reward level being extremely high here. How are you
going to assess whether or not your lap is good, or how aggressive do
you think you’re going to be to lay down a lap time that will get you a
good starting position?
“Yeah, that’s a good question. That’s a million-dollar question. I
guess we’ve got O’Reilly on before us, so they’ll clean up the track a
little bit. But yeah, being the first one out, you don’t have a
reference lap or delta, so you have no idea how good your lap is while
you’re doing it. It’s very difficult to judge what speed you’ve got. And
then, yeah, how much better the track’s going to be and how long do we
want to wait in first group because the red flags might come out. It’s a
huge risk, and something we’ll have to assess and talk about. But
looking at the track and how narrow it is, it’s going to be tough to
pass in some spots, so, yeah, we want to be as close to the front as we
can.”
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