The New Zealander failed to even reach the 30-lap mark in the 200-lap encounter due to engine failure for the #97 Kaulig Racing entry, and was left to lament a missed opportunity to gain experience on a new type of track.
While Atlanta and Las Vegas are essentially the same length, at 1.540mi and 1.500mi respectively, the former behaves as a superspeedway since its 2022 reconfiguration.
As such, the rules package which NASCAR imposed for Race 2 of the Xfinity season at Atlanta was similar to that which is used for Daytona International Speedway, including tapered spacers which significantly reduce engine power.
The extra power which van Gisbergen felt at Las Vegas was but one shock to the system, as he explained in the latest episode of the Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour podcast.
“It’s the first time I’ve driven the Xfinity car with full power,” he said.
“So, the first time you leave the pits, the thing wheelspins, which it hasn’t done the last couple [of races].
“When you hook fourth down the back straight, you’re hooking up to Turn 3, it’s pretty fast.
“And, just how much finesse you need. The car moves around so much more than I was expecting, so much more than the sim shows me as well, so when you get in the banking, it’s so quick the way you turn in, and when it compresses, the forces that you go through… You’ve obviously got downforce, but then the way the banking is pushing against the car, giving you grip, it’s sensations I haven’t felt before.
“Then, when the thing sticks, you’ve got to go quicker again and quicker again, and then throw that in the race…
“I had a pretty mixed practice – we didn’t get much running with some tech issues – so in the race I was just starting to figure it out before the engine let go.
“But, it’s crazy. I thought I was going quick and then I think it was Justin Allgaier – he started at the back – and he just went around me like I was standing still.
“I thought I was creeping up to it, but I’ve got a lot to learn to just understand what’s going on.
“It’s so different.”
Van Gisbergen has been leaning on the advice of several people, including fellow Supercars-to-NASCAR convert Marcos Ambrose.
“Marcos has been a great help,” said the three-time Supercars champion of the two-time Supercars champion.
“He’s sort of trying to tell me what to expect, what to be patient with, and what to try and achieve from the feelings I want to get from the car.
“A lot of people have given me good advice, but until you get on the track and feel it yourself, that’s the biggest test.
“[For example] At Vegas on the weekend, the skew of the car and how it lands in the corner,” added ‘SVG’.
“He said it’ll get away from you and, all of a sudden, you’ll be three lanes up the track, wondering how you got there, and that happened on the second lap of practice.
“I went into [Turn] 3 and, as it landed in the corner, it just felt like it was having a big slide, and I’ve over-corrected, and ended up trying to not be in the fence.
“So, he told me all about it and, sure enough, it happened.”
Race 4 of the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series takes place this weekend at Phoenix Raceway, a one-mile tri-oval.
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