“I don’t think like that”: Shane van Gisbergen isn’t pressuring himself to repeat Chicago heroics 

Last year, Shane Van Gisbergen startled the entire NASCAR world by winning his debut and also the inaugural Cup Series race at the Chicago street course. However, as NASCAR prepares to return to the 2.2-mile street circuit on July 7 for this year's Grant Park 165, the three-time Bathurst 1000 winner doesn't feel the need to replicate his 2023 victory.

The feat that Shane Van Gisbergen pulled off in the rain-shortened Grant Park 220 last year was something no race car driver had achieved in the past 60 years. The New Zealander drove his Trackhouse Racing 'Project 91' Chevy to the victory lane after grabbing the lead following a restart on lap 61.

During a recent media availability in Chicago, a reporter reflected on the same, asking the Supercars sensation if the latter felt it was necessary to repeat the triumph to land a full-time Cup ride. Shane Van Gisbergen replied:

"No, I don't think like that. But, it would probably certainly help; getting a good result both days and showing I can keep running upfront on road courses. But I'm not trying to put pressure on myself saying I have to win to get in Cup next year but certainly a good result will help that."

Shane Van Gisbergen is on a part-time schedule in the Cup Series, driving the number 16 Chevrolet Camaro for Kaulig Racing in select races. After Sunday, SVG will drive in two more races at Watkins Glen International on September 15, and at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on October 20, as reported by Forbes.

Furthermore, the 35-year-old Auckland native is under a full-time contract with Kaulig Racing as the driver of their #97 Xfinity car. Shane Van Gisbergen won his maiden Xfinity Series win at Portland International Raceway last month and followed it up with another one at Sonoma Raceway next week.

Shane Van Gisbergen illuminates why Grant Park 165 is going to be different from last year

Last year's Grant Park 220 was delayed by over an hour due to unfavorable weather conditions. Moreover, nobody had a lot of experience driving in the rain and on wet tires. Therefore, several drivers, like Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Noah Gragson, and Erik Jones, spun out during the race.

However, as these wet tires were used at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in June, the drivers are not strangers to them anymore. This means Shane Van Gisbergen might need to battle harder to record a back-to-back win at the Chicago road course.

"There was a lot of guys that were fast, five or six fast guys last year," explained SVG, as reported by Racing America. "Especially in qualifying, there were some big laps. But this year, there's just going to be more. There's more guys with data. More guys have better setups learning what they learned last year."

However, that is exactly why Gisbergen loves racing in NASCAR.

"That's the best thing I find about NASCAR. It's not the same people every week. It's so competitive this series, and it's so tight," he added.

As of today, Shane Van Gisbergen stands 14th in the NASCAR Xfinity Series standings with 303 points to his name. Besides running the Cup Series race on Sunday, Gisbergen will run the Xfinity Series race, i.e., the Loop 110 on Saturday. Catch both races live on NBC Sports, with radio updates on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.