Shane van Gisbergen made his NASCAR Cup Series debut on Sunday, and Chase Elliott feels the New Zealand native was probably not all that impressed with the competition.
Van Gisbergen held off Elliott and Justin Haley to win the Chicago Street Race, which was the first of its kind for the Cup Series. The 34-year-old van Gisbergen became the first driver to win to win his Cup Series debut since Johnny Rutherford accomplished the feat in 1963.
After the race, Elliott joked that van Gisbergen will probably go back to New Zealand and “tell all of his friends how bad we are.”
Chase Elliott on MRN: "(Shane van Gisbergen) is going to go home and tell all of his friends how bad we are."
— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) July 3, 2023
Trackhouse Racing driver and team owner Justin Marks invited van Gisbergen to race the No. 91 car in Chicago as part of the team’s Project 91 program. The goal of the program is to give international drivers a chance to race in NASCAR events.
It would be an understatement to say van Gisbergen, a three-time Supercars champion, seized the opportunity. He wasted no time earning the respect of Elliott and others.
