After his NASCAR feat, Shane van Gisbergen’s Supercars future is this week once again the topic of the Speedcafe Pirtek Poll.
Last October, we asked if you would like to see the two-time Bathurst 1000 winner leave Supercars, after his raised doubt about his long-term future in the category ahead of the introduction of Gen3.
Then, three quarters of you expressed a desire to see van Gisbergen test himself somewhere else, although almost 20 percent did not want him to go given what he brings to Supercars.
Now, we ask you not what you want him to do, but what you think he will do, so far as full-time competition is concerned.
The 34-year-old signed a new, two-year deal with Triple Eight Race Engineering in April but it later came to light that it is in fact a one-plus-one contract which gives him the freedom to leave in 2025 if he lands a drive in another category.
After his performance on the streets of Chicago, it would appear that van Gisbergen has the world at his feet; or, the NASCAR world, at least.
So, where to from here?
Van Gisbergen has never previously expressed much interest in NASCAR, but the relative prevalence of road courses compared to years past, and the nature of the new-for-2022 generation of race cars proved a carrot.
However, there is also the fact that he is “not really enjoying” Supercars at present, presumably due to politics and the driving dynamics of the Gen3 cars themselves.
The multi-million-dollar salaries which top NASCAR drivers earn would also be mightily alluring.
Still, one should temper their enthusiasm about suggesting that van Gisbergen would become one of the top NASCAR drivers.
He has not raced on an oval before, and admitted post-race about outperforming the seasoned stock car drivers in Chicago that. “I’m sure if it was an oval it would be the other way around.”
False modesty, perhaps, given expectations were downplayed also after topping practice and qualifying on the second row at a first attempt.
SVG is a man of many talents, including titles and victories in big races in GT3 (GT World Challenge Europe, Bathurst 12 Hour) and a WRC2 podium on his World Rally Championship debut in New Zealand last year, on top of last year’s record-breaking Supercars Championship triumph, for example.
On the balance of probabilities, this reporter believes he would master ovals in time, but it is a question mark.
But, there is more to life than all of that.
To succeed in NASCAR long-term, van Gisbergen would have to uproot himself from his ‘home’ of South East Queensland, where he has spent most/all of his adult life, and which is a relatively short flight back to his native New Zealand.
That alone is an incentive to stay in Supercars, according to the man himself, let alone the category itself.
Notwithstanding reservations about Gen3, van Gisbergen has enjoyed the “awesome” Supercars he has driven over the years and his current team boss, Jamie Whincup, has said that the new breed of cars which Triple Eight played a big part in developing will continue to be refined.
Van Gisbergen reiterated even after his NASCAR win that “I still love Supercars”, despite all of the above.
Furthermore, with the rise of Erebus Motorsport and Brodie Kostecki in the Gen3 era, and the tightness of the field, Triple Eight is now being challenged like it has not been since Scott McLaughlin and Team Penske left at the end of 2020.
At some point in the not especially distant future, though, the boy from Auckland is likely to face a very big decision, terms of his full-time driving career; Supercars or NASCAR?
What do you think he will do? Get out your crystal ball and cast your vote below in this week’s Pirtek Poll.
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