Shane van Gisbergen enjoyed his debut oval qualifying session, despite describing his first afternoon in the NASCAR Trucks Series as “tough”.

The three-time Supercars champion qualified 28th for the 200-lap race which is coming up at Indianapolis Raceway Park, where he is making his oval debut in the #41 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado.

Van Gisbergen’s first qualifying lap was a 0:23.834s before setting a 0:23.527s next time around.

“It’s tough,” he said on Fox Sports after his two-lap qualifying run.

“It’s just all instinctive and reacting to it. First lap, I didn’t get the most out of it and expected a bit much. I had a big slide out of Turn 2 onto the back straight; just getting used to it.

“Then, the second lap, I didn’t know what to expect. Had an awesome time getting better. Looks like I’m going to be right in the middle of it all at the start, so it’s going to be interesting.”

Van Gisbergen added, “I’m having a ball.

“Just learning so much every lap and hopefully we’ll get some long runs in the race so I can get in a rhythm and just learn a lot tonight.”

Earlier, the New Zealander had been 32nd-fastest in the 39-car field in Practice, on a 0:24.125s.

“I had a good time,” he said after that session.

“Just getting used to it. Obviously didn’t get the most out of the new tyre but at the end [but] I felt that I was half-competitive.

“It’s so different, like, the way it turns into the corner and loads up. I’ve got a lot to learn.”

Race start is due today at 21:00 ET/11:00 AEST.

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