The NASCAR rookie finished today’s Xfinity Series race with a ‘stripe’ on his Quad Lock-backed #97 Kaulig Racing Camaro, after a scrape of the wall during the 147-lap contest.
Van Gisbergen would finish 15th after starting 17th and dropping as low as 24th, before making up four positions in the final, 16-lap green flag run to the end.
He did so without any laps of Darlington prior to the race, with practice and qualifying having been washed out.
“People didn’t really play themselves in; everyone just goes flat-out,” the New Zealander told Speedcafe and Frontstretch.
“So, I needed a bit of time there to just learn, and I dropped back a fair way but I just kept it straight.
“When I was comfortable, I kept going faster and faster.
“I was a little bit tight to run the wall and also to get confidence up there. Man, it’s a hard feeling, sliding up to the wall, trusting that this little, imaginary air pocket’s going to save you; like, it’s a crazy feeling.
“But, I got better and better, and I had fun.
“I just sucked at the restarts; I was too tight and I kept getting trapped on the bottom and couldn’t get rolling, and I passed the 27 car [Jeb Burton] about 58 times, I think.
“But, we had an awesome race, really good fun with a lot of guys here, the racing was clean, and I just had a faster car than where we finished.
“Thanks to Quad Lock, first race of the year for them, and pretty cool to do the Marcos Ambrose throwback [livery] and put the stripe on the side with Marcos’s name on it, so, all good.”
NASCAR returns to Daytona in August, when van Gisbergen will thus be armed with real-world experience of the circuit.
“Just knowing how the tyres fall off,” he said about how he will be better prepared then.
“Like, we were dropping three seconds a lap or something. The deg is crazy for only two corners, how much time you lose.
“It’s like ice skating; it’s a delicate balance and I just don’t know what I want from the car yet, and I wish I could start the race over [because] I’d be 10 times better at giving adjustments and understanding what I need.
“But, I had fun; the way the racing is, is really cool, it’s an awesome track.
“Once you get out there, though, it’s super narrow, but a lot of fun.”
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