2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick believes that Scott McLaughlin “needs to be a stock car driver” following the exploits of Shane van Gisbergen.
Van Gisbergen had turned up in the Windy City with very limited testing yet topped the weekend’s sole practice session and qualified third just afterwards, before a drive from as low as 18th to victory.
Harvick, a veteran of NASCAR with over 800 Cup Series races to his name and more than 1100 across the top two tiers, was asked who else he would like to see in the category.
He remarked, “When you look at what happened [in Chicago], I think it tells you just how good Shane is, and the things he accomplished last week were pretty high-level.
“So, I think the other thing that does is, it really opens the perspectives of guys that were on the fence about maybe coming and doing a race and doing the things that they might want to do because they didn’t think they could be competitive.
“Now he’s gone out and won a race, I think that gives everybody else a lot more enthusiasm about giving it a try.
“So, I want to see him and Scott McLaughlin go at it; that’s what everybody talks about.
“I’m still of the opinion that Scott McLaughlin needs to be a stock car driver, so come over here and really showcase it.
“I’d love to see those guys go head-to-head on a road course; they’d put on some great shows.”
McLaughlin has in fact driven a Cup Series car on a street circuit, in a demonstration on the Gold Coast in 2018.
While it once appeared that Team Penske would move him from Supercars into NASCAR, even to the New Zealander himself, he is now a four-time race winner in IndyCar.
Penske operates a title-winning NASCAR programme, comprised of Ford Mustangs which compete against Chevrolet Camaros and Toyota Camrys.
Chevrolet, though, is the team’s manufacturer partner in IndyCar, and hence could be a significant hurdle if there was interest in fielding McLaughlin in stock cars.
What van Gisbergen’s achievements have done, however, is boosted the prospects of Supercars rivals such as Cameron Waters, who is interested in NASCAR starts himself.
Speaking after his Chicago victory, SVG said, “Hopefully [it] shows how good our Supercars drivers are and opens the floodgates and we can come over here and race.
“There hasn’t been anyone from Supercars since Marcos [Ambrose] really come and have a go, but there’s plenty of good drivers now wanting to come try and expand and come over here.
“Any of the top 10 in Supercars are good enough to come and do what I just did.”
The 2023 NASCAR season, Harvick’s last before he retires, continues this weekend at New Hampshire.
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