Shane van Gisbergen fuels speculation on NASCAR veterans' Supercars debut in Adelaide

NASCAR rookie Shane van Gisbergen has spoken out on Cup Series drivers who could potentially debut in the Australian Supercars racing series. Two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch is notably set to make his Supercars debut in the Adelaide 500 race in November.

A three-time Supercars champion, Gisbergen changed the course of the racing world when he made his NASCAR debut last season. Being a part of Trackhouse Racing's Project 91, he competed in NASCAR's first-ever race at the Chicago Street Course, making history in the process.

By winning the Grant Park 220 race in Chicago, Gisbergen became the first driver in nearly sixty years to win a NASCAR race on his debut. He is also the first and only New Zealander to win a race in NASCAR.

Shane van Gisbergen made his Truck Series debut later in 2023 before signing a full-time contract with Kaulig Racing in the Xfinity Series for the 2024 season. As he continues to make waves in his maiden campaign as a NASCAR driver, Gisbergen was recently asked about his opinion on Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson potentially transitioning to Supercars.

Speaking during a Chevy fan zone appearance, he answered:

"There’s some talk he or Kyle Busch could do in Adelaide."

Kyle Larson, a former NASCAR Cup Series champion, made his IndyCar Series debut earlier this season when he competed in the Indy 500 race.

Meanwhile, Kyle Busch, another former two-time Cup champion, is set to make his Australian Supercars debut later this year. He will take part in the Adelaide 500 race, set to take place on the streets of East Adelaide in November.

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Shane van Gisbergen differentiates between a Cup car and an Xfinity car

In a conversation with The Atheltic's Jeff Gluck, Shane van Gisbergen elaborated on his experiences with different types of racing cars. Highlighting the differences between the Xfinity Series and Cup Series cars, he said:

"So the Xfinity car, I’ve never driven anything like that. I’ve never driven a car that drives like a forklift, where the rear end is doing the steering. Every other car feels solid, locked-in, makes downforce in a straight line, rather than yawed out."

"The Cup car is relative to pretty much every other race car in the world. So I jumped in that Cup car at the Coke 600 and that was the first real oval I’ve done (in Cup) and it just feels like a normal car. You’re like, 'OK, I can push on and be comfortable with this, get a feel.'"

Shane van Gisbergen is ranked 11th in the NASCAR Xfinity Series standings. He has 457 points to his name after 18 races, courtesy of three wins this campaign.