Jenson Button expects SVG to be ‘very competitive’ in NASCAR

Jenson Button expects Shane van Gisbergen to be “very competitive” when they both drive in the NASCAR Cup Series street race in Chicago this weekend.

Van Gisbergen is making his NASCAR debut in the Trackhouse Racing Project91 Camaro while Button is set for his second start of the season in the Mobil 1-backed Rick Ware Racing Mustang.

The 2009 world drivers’ champion had high praise for the three-time Supercars champion.

“It’s great having Shane onboard,” said Button.

“Whatever he jumps in, he’s super competitive. This is very much what he’s used to in terms of street courses.

“The weight of the car is kind of ‘used to,’ I guess? With Supercars, it might be a little heavier.

“I expect him to be very competitive this weekend. He’ll be right at the front end, so hopefully I will be racing with him, and I’ll be near him.

“For him to come across and say it has a lot of front grip and it turns in as he would hope, it’s kind of surprising, but it’s great to hear that.

“The cars are in a good place, where it’s competitive against a V8 Supercar.”

Van Gisbergen tested the #91 Camaro in a somewhat brief outing on Charlotte’s ‘roval’ on Monday.

While that was an unusual orientation given the Kiwi was in the car which he will be racing, the team was testing under NASCAR-imposed restrictions and hence not allowed to change set-up, for example.

Button also had a recent run in a NASCAR away from an event, although that was in the Garage 56 entry in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

“I’m more amazed that he actually got to test, because I didn’t. In his race car as well,” said the Briton.

“For me, compared to the Garage 56 car, it’s very different,” he added.

“We didn’t have regulations, so we could do what we wanted – move the fuel tank forward, more power, more downforce, power shift… so, we made it into a car that was very driveable.

“We had traction control. It was the easiest car that I had ever driven.

“So, you go through the Porsche Curves at Le Mans, little bit of understeer the way through, rear’s really stable – no issues with this like we had at COTA [Circuit of The Americas], where the rear tyre just gives up because there’s no suspension and because you have to run the diffuser on the ground.

“We made it really easy to drive, which is what you need for an endurance race.

“The Cup cars are a lot more difficult, but it doesn’t matter. It means it’s the same for all of us. It’s a challenge. It’s just getting on-top of how the car is.

“I think we’ve made a lot of progress from where I had the car at COTA to here, so I’m looking forward to getting out there and seeing how it feels.”

Practice and Qualifying in Chicago take place on Saturday afternoon (Sunday morning AEST).