Ford Supercars star Cam Waters believes Shane van Gisbergen’s success in Chicago has enhanced his own chances of gaining a guest drive in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Waters, who starts this afternoons Race 17 from pole position, has made no secret of his long-term ambition to race in the USA, targeting NASCAR and Sprint Cars.
Amid rampant speculation about his future, the Tickford Racing spearhead has revealed he was already working on a NASCAR guest appearance before van Gisbergen’s win put Supercars drivers in the spotlight.
Waters thinks his prospects – and those of the likes of Brodie Kostecki, who has also declared his NASCAR aspirations – have been enhanced by his Red Ampol Racing rival’s stunning victory on the streets of Chicago in his NCS debut.
“What Shane’s gone and done definitely hasn’t hurt any of us Aussies or Kiwis,” Waters told Speedcafe. “It’s definitely helped.”
He is looking to expand his racing portfolio, competing in Sprint Cars over the summer with a view to American opportunities.
“I want to do more racing and I’ve been very vocal about that,” he said. “I raced the sprint car in the summer and NASCAR is something that I would love to do.
“I was already kind of trying to do something before Shane even got his deal together, but I’m not sure if we’ll get anything together this year.
“We’ll keep working on it and we’ll see what happens.”
Waters is prepared to explore all options to gain a foothold in the NASCAR Cup Series, including the second-level Xfinity Series, and is willing to try ovals as well as road circuits.
“I’m just open to anything, to be honest,” he admitted. “A road course or even a shorter oval.
“I think if you wanted to go do NASCAR full time, you’d need to see if you enjoy doing the ovals. So I think doing an oval would be important before you made a transition into that category.”
The Monster Energy Racing Ford Mustang front-runner is at the centre of ‘silly season’ conjecture as he weighs his future in Supercars.
He has a renewal option with Tickford, which asserts an equal claim to keep him, and is known to have had an offer to join Chaz Mostert at Walkinshaw Andretti United.
Waters has also been sounded out by Triple Eight as a possible replacement for van Gisbergen, who could be released as soon as next year if he decides to capitalise on his Chicago success to switch to NASCAR.
Intriguingly, when it was put to him that there is a lot of play out in the coming months, Waters replied: “Yeah, 100 percent.”
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