Shane van Gisbergen reveals he was a ‘big Tony Stewart fan’ when he began watching NASCAR

Shane van Gisbergen revealed he was an admirer of Tony Stewart while he was racing in the Supercars Championship.

Since his victory at the Chicago Street Race in 2023, the New Zealander has bursted onto the scene in NASCAR. The man affectionately known as SVG is now running a full-time schedule with Trackhouse Racing in the Xfinity Series, with designs on moving to the Cup Series afterwards.

Speaking with Kevin Harvick, who ironically drove for Stewart, van Gisbergen elaborated on his prior NASCAR knowledge, revealing that he was a huge fan of “Smoke” before he ever considered racing in America.

“I did a little bit, when Marcos [Ambrose] first came over,” van Gisbergen told Harvick, regarding when he started to get into NASCAR, via Harvick’s Happy Hour. “I’ve always went for Tony Stewart though. I was a big Tony Stewart fan, so working with [Stewart’s former crew chief] Darian Grubb last year, that was a pretty cool moment for me. He had some cool stories.”

That’s a pretty cool story from SVG. The fact that he got to work with Grubb at Trackhouse last season is an awesome development, and something that the New Zealander probably appreciated, gaining a valuable experience.

One thing that helped Stewart stand out in the Cup Series was his ability to win at any track on the circuit. That’s where SVG is trying to get to in his NASCAR career. Thus far in the Xfinity Series, he’s proven his ability in short order, racing well on a myriad of different surfaces.

While it’s been unlike anything SVG has ever raced, he’s done well thus far. Through four races, SVG stands in P14 in the playoff hunt, accumulating one top five, two top tens and one DNF, after his equipment went south on him during a race in Las Vegas.

This weekend however, SVG has a track that’s more in his wheelhouse coming up. The Xfinity Series is headed to the Circuit of the Americas, where he’ll be able to show his innate ability on road courses to the world.

Perhaps this will be the spot when van Gisbergen is able to grab his first Xfinity Series victory. That would go a long way towards proving he truly does belong racing the full-time schedule in the future.

Time will tell, but Shane van Gisbergen isn’t going anywhere. He’s motivated to continue making noise in the NASCAR world, and the Trackhouse Racing star is going to do just that if he lives up to his potential.