“Shane van Gisbergen will catch every car without touching them and hound the hell out of them” - Dale Jr. heaps praise on SVG’s heroics

Dale Earnhardt Jr. heaped praise on Shane van Gisbergen's race craft, highlighting the Kiwi driver's ability to overtake a car without making any contact with his competitors.

The 3x Supercars champion was in his element during NASCAR's recent visit to the Chicago Street Race. Van Gisbergen displayed his skills in the Xfinity race, dueling with Kyle Larson for the lead in the first stage, and later making his way through the field effectively.

After witnessing Shane van Gisbergen's exploits, Dale Earnhardt Jr. put the spotlight on Landon Cassill's comments. The latter wrote on X that drivers like SVG honed their racecraft in the Supercars series, where drivers are penalized for gaining an advantage by bumping or pushing other cars.

Dale Jr. elaborated that this skill allows van Gisbergen to "hound" a driver and complete the move without making any contact. He said in a recent episode of Dale Jr. Download:

"I saw a tweet from Landon Cassill, he's like, hey man in the past I've criticized other forms of motorsports, particularly V8 Supercars for penalizing drivers for contact. And he's like, but today I'm really appreciating how disciplined that has made SVG, because SVG will catch every car and never touch them and Hound the Hell out of them and finally get around them."

Dale Jr.'s ally TJ Majors also shed light on Shane van Gisbergen's incredible skills in the braking phase. He stated that the #97 Chevy driver is always on the edge, and can skillfully control the rear of the car whenever it steps out.

"He is incredible under braking, every time he starts to brake the back of the car starts to step out and he catches it. He is on the edge because I think he does that deal with both feet and he's incredible at it."

Shane van Gisbergen won the Xfinity Series race at Chicago, his third victory of the season. In the Cup race, however, he got collected in a crash involving Chase Briscoe.

---

Landon Cassill applauds Shane van Gisbergen's "tactical" brilliance

Unlike NASCAR's 'Rubbin is Racing' ethos, drivers in other motor racing series races don't use aggressive racing maneuvers to overtake, as time penalties are dished out for gaining an advantage through contact.

Landon Cassill recently highlighted Shane van Gisbergen's tactical ability to set up an overtake and make a move without bumping his rivals. Cassill wrote on X that he was previously critical of such race craft, but now appreciates it after witnessing van Gisbergen's finesse in the Chicago Street race.

"I have been so critical of overly strict racing regulations in other series across the world, specifically in Australia where drivers are prohibited from using their cars to bump or nudge another vehicle to gain an advantage or complete an overtake," he wrote on X.

"However, I believe we’re watching a driver win who has been trained to tactically set up each pass not by just bludgeoning his opponents out of the way but by using actual race-craft and strategy. It’s beautiful," he added.

Shane van Gisbergen has won three Xfinity races this season and currently sits 11th in the regular season standings.