The three-time Bathurst 1000 winner now has 10 races in the Xfinity Series under his belt in what is a full-time programme in the second tier in 2024, bolstered by several Cup races.
He battled to 18th a fortnight ago at Dover, where Kaulig Racing struggled broadly, and now has to face the tricky Darlington without a lap at the circuit under his belt given today’s Practice and Qualifying sessions were washed out.
Van Gisbergen will not take up his berth in the NASCAR All-Star Race but, a fortnight from now, the Xfinity Series is off to Charlotte.
“It’s been pretty tough,” he admitted.
“It’s been really good though; a lot of fun, a lot of learning, and I’m loving racing [virtually] every week and a different challenge every week.
“This stretch of races is probably what we singled out as the most difficult; Dover and Texas [April 13] and this place [Darlington], and then Coke 600 [Charlotte] in a couple of weeks.
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“I’ve got some pretty tough weeks here but feel like we’re getting through it okay.
“Obviously, we want to be a bit quicker but getting top 20s, completing every lap, and straight cars, has been really good.
“First time at these tracks, that’s sort of the goal, and then towards the end of the year, especially when we come back to these places, we’ll try and push for better results.
“But, I’ve been enjoying it, been having some great races with people and ending most weeks with a with a smile on my face.”
Van Gisbergen may well have finished in the top 10 in his first Cup Series race at Talladega, three weeks ago, had Ty Gibbs not slowed the outside lane in the closing laps.
He tended to slide down the order and then recover in both the Cup and Xfinity races that weekend, which he puts down to having to learn tracks on the run with little to no practice/testing.
The three-time Supercars champion, who is currently 15th in the Xfinity Series standings, also admitted that the vehicle dynamics of a NASCAR are still a foreign feeling to him.
“I really struggled at the moment with the skew of the cars,” he explained.
“So, when the car lands in the corner, how the diff kind of flexes and the whole car yaws out.
“That’s 30 years of racing for me telling me that the car’s spinning out. You know, my bum’s telling me that I’m about to crash and I’m facing the infield, but the side force of the car holds it in.
“So, I’m still learning that the car’s not sliding and the hand of God, as Ross [presumably Trackhouse Racing stablemate Ross Chastain] is telling me, is stopping me from spinning out.
“It’s one of the craziest things to just ignore that you’re having a big spin but you’re not.
“So, [I am] getting used to that feeling and understanding how these tyres work. They’re very different, how they come on, and the pressures they run here.
“It’s just, every weekend, I’m pretty conservative, I guess, with my racing and always takes me a while.
“I’m normally coming good by the third stage, but it’s too late by then.
“Definitely, when we get back to tracks I know, hopefully I’m quick from the get-go.”
A start is officially scheduled for Saturday at 13:30 ET/Sunday at 03:30 AEST.
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