SVG’s False Alarm on Radio Left Justin Marks & Co. Terrified at Chicago

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CHICAGO, IL – JULY 01: Shane van Gisbergen 91 Trackhouse Racing Enhance HealthChevrolet talks with Bubba Wallace 23 23XI Racing McDonald s Toyota duringqualifications for the NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Cup Series Grant Park 220 on July01, 2023 in downtown Chicago, Illinois. Photo by Joe Robbins/Icon SportswireAUTO: JUL 01 NASCAR Cup Series Grant Park 220 EDITORIAL USE ONLYIcon573230701038220

With a bang-up debut in the Chicago street race, Shane Van Gisbergen swiftly ascended as the “next big thing” in NASCAR. Having previously cut his teeth in V8 Supercars, SVG is no stranger to accolades for his behind-the-wheel prowess. Yet, after taking a dip in the Cup Series waters, he became the talk of the town among NASCAR aficionados as well as racing teams.

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Now, as he gears up to throw his hat in the ring for a second time with the Craftsman Truck Series, the buzz is palpable, as reflected in his animated chats with various media bigwigs. Nobody would have predicted that SVG could ever make a mistake on the track with such a stellar track record. However, in a candid heart-to-heart on NASCAR Hub Live, SVG spilled the beans on an incident during the Chicago race. To many’s astonishment, he unveiled an incident where a fleeting misread during the Chicago dash sent shivers down the spines of SVG and his crew.

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In a tête-à-tête before the race, SVG pulled back the curtain on a hiccup during his maiden Cup race—a moment that made the Trackhouse Racing team members, steered by the ever-watchful Justin Marks, bite their nails. Probed about his split-second decisions inside the cockpit, SVG shared a faux pas that snowballed in no time.

The interviewer, talking about the cardinal rule of not letting one’s eyes wander to the big screens whilst in the driver’s seat, prodded, “Tell me what happened at the end of the Chicago race.”

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With a wry smile, SVG responded, “Yeah! So I went back and watched what happened. I looked at the screen on the front straight, and it was a bit blurred, and it looked like my car was smoking. And through the radio to the crew, I’m like, ‘What’s happening with the motor? Is there something going on?'”

From the pit crew’s perspective, even a whiff of potential engine trouble or the merest hint of smoke can spell disaster. With Justin Marks at the helm, they would’ve been most likely on tenterhooks, bracing for a curveball. Yet the entire kerfuffle was just a storm in a teacup, stemming from a water-smeared screen giving off false alarms.

Watch This Story: Trackhouse Boss Justin Marks Could Lose SVG to Bigger NASCAR Sharks

SVG elucidated, “It was just that the big screen had some water on it or something, so I was panicking a bit, but I think when you are out front, you’re thinking about those things a bit more.”

Now, with the wisdom of keeping one’s focus off the big screens, SVG is expected to be more in his element on the tracks. But, not to put all his cards on the table, he also shed light on other speed bumps he has been facing during his Truck Series prep sessions.

The star from the Land of the Long White Cloud, having notched up 79 triumphs in the Supercars Series, is gearing up to blaze a trail down the Indianapolis oval with NASCAR Truck Series. Yet, the fact that he’s only had whistle-stop training with the truck might throw a spanner in the works for him on the track.

When the rubber met the road in a discussion about SVG’s prep time and adapting to the new racing environment, SVG candidly admitted, “Not much, just over a week. Justin rang last week and said, Oh, you’re here for the race; do you want to do the truck race on Friday? And I said Yes, thinking it was at the road course, but it’s not.”

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Elaborating further, he mused, “I watched the Truck race, and it’s crazy. They don’t race with much respect and the trucks look like they get pretty beat up.

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“[…] It’s going to be pretty different; I’ve seen the truck. When I first went and looked, I thought the left side was broken and hanging out the wrong side, but it’s such a different world for me. I watched the race on the way over, tried to study it, and it’s a pretty crazy style of racing. So, that’s going to be a tough initiation, I think.”

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While the oval might currently have SVG feeling like a fish out of water, NASCAR aficionados are banking on him. They reckon that once he finds his feet, he’ll knock it out of the park.

Read More: Big Blow for SVG As Iconic Veteran Has a Different Plan in Mind

Neha Dwivedi

199 articles

Edited By: Nischal Kandpal

The big screen blunder by SVGIs the 3x V8 Supercars champion struggling with the new vehicles ahead of his debut in Truck Series?