Shane van Gisbergen elaborates on NASCAR drivers’ “sharp & committed” driving style

NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Shane van Gisbergen opened up on the biggest challenge he is tackling early in his rookie season, adding that he's been studying clips of veteran drivers to learn the new trade.

The three-time Supercars champion is a veteran street and road-course driver but is relatively new to the racing on the ovals. Gisbergen kicked off his Xfinity campaign with back-to-back Superspeedway races and was impressed with the "sharp and the committed" driving style of NASCAR drivers in the pack.

Shane van Gisbergen remarked that he's still learning the intricacies of NASCAR racing, adding that he is watching onboards of veteran drivers to gain insights into their driving styles. While highlighting Austin Hill's skillful drive at Daytona, Gisbergen pointed out Hill's confident maneuvering.

Speaking about his competitors in the Xfinity Series, the 34-year-old Kiwi told motorsport.com:

"Everyone’s – I don’t think aggressive is the right word – but sharp and committed, you know. Watching Austin Hill in particular at Daytona, he passed me a couple of times and was just so committed where he was placing his car, and he was so aware of his surroundings."

"It was really impressive to watch and I’m not at that level of confidence yet to do that. Then, when we’re in the line at Atlanta, you’re riding but you’re still having to push pretty hard."

He added:

"I’m just watching people trying to make moves and analyzing how they were doing things."

Shane van Gisbergen took home a 12th-place finish in the Xfinity season opener at Daytona. The following weekend, he claimed his first top-five finish by bagging a third-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

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Shane van Gisbergen elaborates on his best finish at Atlanta

The Xfinity Series rookie was thrown into the deep end in his first two appearances with NASCAR visiting Daytona and Atlanta in the first two weekends of the 2024 season.

Shane van Gisbergen described Atlanta as "Daytona on steroids". Despite the daunting challenge, he was able to avoid the chaos and navigate to a third-place finish.

The #97 Kaulig Racing team's decision to pit late for fuel paid off handsomely, as most of his competition ran out of fuel in the final laps.

"It was pretty wild. We came into pit, I thought we had saved a bit of fuel, but we still came anyway and obviously, it was the right call," he was quoted by NASCAR.com.

Shane van Gisbergen couldn't contain his excitement in the final laps as he battled the front runners to the checkered flag.

"Yeah, what an awesome feeling running and then trying to block and follow those guys up front. I was just smiling the whole time, it was really cool."

Gisbergen lines up 25th for his third Xfinity outing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, on Saturday, March 2.