Despite being the most recent winner at The Glen, van Gisbergen says series points leader Tyler Reddick is the man to beat.
The 23XI Racing driver has been the class of the field this year, winning five races to date including the first three of the year.
Reddick beat van Gisbergen at Circuit of the Americas too, a track where SVG remains winless in the Cup Series.
“Definitely the #45 is,” said SVG when asked who was the favourite.
“He was amazing at COTA and he’s been amazing all year. He’s the one I’m looking at.
“There are six or eight guys who I could pick out of the entry list that are going to be up the front.
“You’re racing everyone, but the first person you compare to is your teammate and if you’re racing him for the win it’s a good thing – that means our cars are doing all right.”
Van Gisbergen said morale in the Trackhouse Racing stable is high leading into Watkins Glen.
He knows he will more likely than not be competitive and his teammate Connor Zilisch is expected to star too.
The return to turning right is a welcome one for van Gisbergen, who hasn’t had a top 10 finish since COTA.
The driver of the #97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet Camaro has been riding the peaks and troughs of big momentum swings as he flirts with The Chase cut-off line.
“You definitely feel a buzz in the shop,” said van Gisbergen.
“It’s no secret it’s been pretty difficult to start the year. We haven’t been where we expected or hoped to be obviously.
“You’re never just going to turn up and have magically fast cars.
“The fast cars are still going to be good. We still lack in some areas and drivers still need to be better too.
“Collectively, we need to manage our expectations a bit.
“You see, especially at COTA, we saw a big improvement from other teams, how much better they are this year.
“I’m not expecting to have it as nice as we did last year, but certainly hope and we’re preparing like we can fight for it.”
Van Gisbergen heads to Watkins Glen off the back of finishing 17th at Texas Motor Speedway.
It was a solid if unspectacular showing from the Kiwi, who finished one place behind teammate Zilisch.
“Texas was promising,” van Gisbergen said.
“We all improved a lot and I think qualifying shows the potential of the cars.
“Connor did a really good job there and in the race we’re still not amazing but we definitely were all happier with our cars.
“I think the main thing is the mood on the Monday. No one is angry at each other, we’re just working together really well.
“It’s a really cool working environment, and that keeps it fun for me.
“I still enjoy it, but we obviously all want to be running better. That’s how it goes sometimes.”
Van Gisbergen will contest triple duties at Watkins Glen, beginning with the Craftsman Truck Series on Saturday (AEST) before the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series on Sunday and the Cup Series on Monday.
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