"It's a completely different sport": Shane van Gisbergen reflects on radical transition from road course racing to NASCAR ovals 

Shane van Gisbergen has pointed out how even 'unbelievable' oval specialists struggle to perform at road courses. After securing another pole in Friday's (July 11) Xfinity Series qualifying at Sonoma Raceway, the Kiwi driver shared his thoughts on the two formats.

SVG has been dominant at road courses so far, becoming the driver to beat at such tracks. However, his reputation precedes him, having won the Australian Supercars championship thrice.

While the rest of the field plays catch-up to his road course prowess, Van Gisbergen continues to find an edge over his competition. Heading into Friday's qualifying, Connor Zilisch was poised to grab the pole after setting the pace in practice, but he was ultimately outclassed by his JR Motorsports teammate.

Reflecting upon the state of NASCAR under road courses, Van Gisbergen said (via X/Frontstretch):

"When you watch some of these guys drive like there's people on an oval that are unbelievable, so fast and they come here and they're two seconds off. You know, it's just like it's a completely different sport almost, the road courses versus the ovals."

He also spoke about his progress in the ovals, saying:

"I feel like I'm getting better and better, but I still have I have so much to learn on the ovals and every week I'm developing, learning something new and learning what feelings and what I need from the car."

At Sonoma, Shane van Gisbergen is chasing his third straight Xfinity Series win and another shot at a weekend sweep, which he successfully pulled off at Chicago last week. Notably, he'd scored both wins from pole, a feat previously achieved by Kyle Busch during his 2016 Indianapolis sweep.

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Shane van Gisbergen comments on his pole over Connor Zilisch

During Friday's practice, Shane van Gisbergen looked off his pace, but bounced back to secure pole from a single flying lap. His JRM teammate, Connor Zilisch, fell short of his lap time with a narrow margin of two tenths.

Reflecting upon his efforts, SVG said (via X/Frontstretch):

"There's a tenth here or there and Connor had the same. When we overlay our laps, we were tit for tat in a couple of corners, but yeah, my lap was pretty decent."

Zilisch responded to his qualifying loss with a bold message aimed at Shane Van Gisbergen.

"Comin for ya mate @shanevg97," he said via X.

The two drivers were at the center of a controversial finish last weekend at Chicago. SVG and Zilisch were battling for the lead with two laps to go when the former pushed his teammate wide through turn 1, causing Zilisch to brush the walls and lose ground.

With the two locking out the front row for Saturday's race, fans are looking forward to a fiery rematch between the JRM teammates.

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Edited by Samya Majumdar