Van Gisbergen has been a force, winning at three of the four non-oval races to date this season across Mexico City, Chicago, and Sonoma.
The only race he hasn’t won was Circuit of the Americas where he battled an ill-handing car and finished sixth.
His sheer stranglehold has even the most experienced drivers scratching their heads.
Speaking on New Zealand radio show Sports Nation, four-time Bathurst 1000 winner Murphy said van Gisbergen has left drivers wondering whether they can win on non-ovals.
“He has qualified basically for the Playoffs by winning on road courses and dominating,” said Murphy.
“He’s put himself in an amazing position and I think it’s changed the way everyone is having to think about how they’re going about qualifying and racing to get themselves into the Playoffs.
“It’s been really interesting listening or reading a few comments from other very, very established champions in NASCAR and talking about his prowess and how he operates the car in a road course or street course environment and how he manipulates the pedals and how these other guys are just like refusing to have to go and adapt and change.”
What van Gisbergen lacks in oval experience he makes up for in spades on road courses and street circuits thanks to his delicate footwork.
For the lion’s share of speedway races, left foot braking is the default setting. For van Gisbergen, right foot braking has for the longest time been the standard.
Murphy said his experience racing touring cars makes him the perfect candidate for stock car success in what is by and large a foreign setting for them on road courses and street circuits.
“The funny thing is, it’s all normal for us — for people down here that have been racing touring cars and Supercars and the likes,” said Murphy.
“We’ve had races where we start from the start line and we’ve got to learn how to heel and toe and match the revs.
“A lot of these guys… like Kyle Larson, who was pretty outspoken and said that he never thought he would be able to do what Shane does, he’s given up on the idea of trying to emulate him.
“It’s because they grew up on speedways, two pedal work of the car. They are in top gear on an oval and that’s where they sit and they manipulate the throttle and the brake, so they left foot brake, which I used to do a fair bit of in Supercars.
“What Shane does is he heels and toes, but he manipulates the clutch pedal as well and avoids what they have in NASCAR quite a lot which is rear [wheel] hop.
“Going into a corner, certainly on a street circuit or a road course, which has become a lot more popular now in NASCAR than what it ever was before, these guys are going into the corner, they’re putting their left foot on the brake, and they’re changing down and blipping the throttle on the way down, but when you get a mis-match every so slightly, what happens is the rear locks.
“The rear wheels are going slower in rotation than what they’re going down the road in road speed. They get this hopping sensation, which often leads to losing the rear of the car and spinning.
“Shane manipulates the clutch pedal to avoid this hop, and it’s just so efficient. It looks after the tyre and it also guarantees that he’s never going to lock the rears and go off into a corner. It’s so simple to us who have grown up doing that.
“Shane did master it in Supercars probably more than most people. He’s taken this technique to the US and he’s got all the locals completely bamboozled with it, which is quite funny.”
Murphy also noted van Gisbergen’s slow but steady oval progress.
The Trackhouse Racing driver finished 19th at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the Brickyard 400. He qualified 11th for that race but was blighted by a serious vibration.
“He’s making progress [on ovals], even though it might seem slow to people,” said Murphy.
“The oval side of things is just such a massive learn for someone who hasn’t grown up doing that kind of stuff. I think he’s making really good progress and he has opened some eyes.
“It’s just amazing that he’s gone there and created this situation,” he added.
“His success I think has is only just beginning in that formula, and he’s loving it.
“He’s a guy that wants to race every week and now he’s got that wish. He’s racing nearly every week and just immersed in it and it suits his style. Long may it continue.”
Van Gisbergen’s next race is at Iowa on Monday, August 4 (AEST).
Get the latest NASCAR news, stats, and US racing coverage at Speedcafe US
Discussion about this post