V8 Supercars star Chaz Mostert added a brief stint in an ex-Winston Cup NASCAR to his testing duties with Super Black Racing at Winton today.
The 22-year-old completed limited laps in the Ford Performance Racing-run Super Black Falcon, assisting drivers Andre Heimgartner and Ant Pedersen.
Mostert then jumped at the chance to shake down one of two ex-Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet Monte Carlo NASCARs brought to the circuit by FPR co-owner Rusty French.
Formerly driven by the likes of Joe Nemechek, Bobby Hamilton and Scott Pruett during their time in the Winston Cup, the cars were imported by French in the late 1990s.
Recently restored ahead of an upcoming Australian NASCAR revival that’ll form part of the Super Truck meeting at Winton next month, today marked the first time the Chevrolets had hit the track since their last race at Queensland Raceway in 2002.
“It was grouse,” Mostert, who previously raced NASCAR-style Oz Trucks during his time with Dunlop Series team Miles Racing, told Speedcafe.com
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“It was a different kettle of fish to a V8 Supercar, that’s for sure.
“They don’t brake very well but they’ve got unbelievable power. 850bhp is just ridiculous with the tyre we had on it, it was wheel-spinning all the way down the straight!
“I wasn’t really on the limit in the corners because it was just a shakedown, but they’re just a bit heavier and float around a lot more (than the V8 Supercar).
“They obviously don’t have the aero that we have.
“It would be interesting to go in a circle and see what they’re like there (on oval tracks), but it was good just to say I’ve driven a NASCAR.”
While several current V8 Supercars drivers, including fellow rising star Scott McLaughlin, have declared interest in one day moving to NASCAR, Mostert says oval track racing is not for him.
“NASCAR isn’t really the way I want to go,” he said.
“You never know where you’ll end up in the future but NASCAR doesn’t really have my interest.
“It’s a cool series to watch but I don’t think I’d go very well. I’ll stick to what I know.”
Mostert’s attention is now on the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000, where he’ll continue his Pirtek Enduro Cup partnership with veteran Paul Morris.
After the #6 Pepsi Max Falcon lost time in its first pitstop with a stuck right-front wheel nut, Mostert was one of the stars of the recent Wilson Security Sandown 500.
Inheriting the car from Morris in 22nd place, a lap adrift from the leader, the youngster was consistently one of the fastest drivers on track in the last 100 laps, benefitting from a late Safety Car to charge his way through to seventh.
Mostert has modest hopes for Bathurst, but says he’s confident that Morris will be up to pace in the co-driver stints.
“I think Paul will be really good at Bathurst,” he said.
“I gave him a bad starting position at Sandown which really hurt us early in the race.
“But the car was mega strong in terms of race pace, so we’ll see what happens up there.
“My goal for Bathurst is really to not crash in practice and finish the race on the lead lap,” he added, having endured a rough rookie Bathurst campaign last year that included a major accident on Saturday morning that contributed to reliability issues in the race.
As for Super Black, Mostert suggests that the two Kiwis should also be simply aiming to see the chequered flag.
“I think for Andre and Ant they’ll be aiming to finish,” he said.
“If they have a clean day and everything falls for them, they can be in the top 10.”
VIDEO: The #2 Chevrolet rounding Winton’s final corner
VIDEO: Heimgartner and Pedersen discuss Super Black’s maiden track hit-out
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