“They drive so differently”: Shane van Gisbergen not relying on his Xfinity run for Cup race at Darlington

Shane van Gisbergen bagged a top 10 finish in Saturday's Xfinity Series race at Darlington Raceway. The three-time Supercars champion now looks forward to running Sunday's Cup series race. However, he feels that his driving style needs to change for this year's Southern 500 at the track "Too Tough to Tame".

Shane van Gisbergen is in his first year driving the No. 97 Kaulig Racing car in the Xfinity Series. He also drives the No. 16 machine for the Chevy team on a part-time schedule in the Cup Series. Next year, the New Zealander will join Trackhouse Racing as a full-time Cup Series driver.

Gisbergen had delivered a P15 finish in this year's Spring race at the 1.366-mile racetrack. Fast forward to the Sport Clips VFW Help a Hero 200, Gisbergen finished 7th, bagging 30 playoff points. He currently sits 12th in the Xfinity standings with 562 points to his credit.

"I definitely like (returning to a track), you know, you turn up, you know where things are and get out on the track, you can just focus on the racecar straight away instead of learning the place," van Gisbergen said during a post-race interview "Certainly felt more comfortable second time here and especially in race, you learn how the race develops, learn where you want to be on restarts. The experience keeps growing for me."

Speaking of how his experience running the Xfinity race could help him tomorrow, Gisbergen said:

"I don't know; the cars are so different. I jumped in that Cup car and nearly crashed on the first lap. But they drive so differently. I was running the bottom in both corners... probably won't be doing that tomorrow."

Fans can watch tomorrow's race on NBC Sports and USA. Radio updates will be available on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Shane van Gisbergen on probable Chili Bowl debut in 2025

Shane van Gisbergen celebrates his win at the NASCAR Xfinity Series Zip Bow Pay Later 250 race at Sonoma Raceway in June (Source: Getty)

The Chili Bowl is a prestigious midget racing event held annually at the Tulsa Expo Center. NASCAR Cup Series regulars like Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson have won multiple times in the coveted event. This time, it's Shane van Gisbergen who is eager to try his luck.

However, Gisbergen's stature could be an issue. According to supercars.com, the three-time Bathurst 1000 winner stands at 188 cm, whereas the cockpit of an MG Midget car is about 4 feet. Reflecting on the same, Gisbergen said (in an interview reported by Speedcafe):

"It's pretty hard for a big fella to drive those cars. I spoke to Kyle Bush about it, because he did the Tulsa shootout, the micro cars the week before, and it's tough."

"There's no rules in Chilli Bowl either," Gisbergen continued. "You know, they're all lightweight cars, lightweight drivers, so you're at a huge disadvantage being over 60 kilos. They're all little jockeys. So for anyone normal sized it's hard to rock up and do that race."

With that said, NASCAR fans remain eager about Shane van Gisbergen's possible Chili Bowl debut. 2025 could be a busy year for Gisbergen, especially with his full-time Cup Series season coming up.