TRACKHOUSE & SVG PREVIEW FOR NASCAR SAN DIEGO AT NAVAL BASE CORONADO

MEDIA RELEASE/Trackhouse Racing – Photos: supplied

Trackhouse Racing have sent through Shane van Gisbergen’s preview for the next round of NASCAR in San Diego at Naval Base Coronado, a new street circuit (road course) he’s back in the No. 97 Red Bull Chevrolet – take a read here.

NOTES:

• Circuit Racing in Southern California: This weekend, Shane van Gisbergen and the No. 97 Red Bull Chevrolet will race 75 laps around Naval Base Coronado in San Diego. The new 3.4-mile-long street circuit has 16 turns and sits on an active military base featuring views of downtown San Diego.
• Special Livery: Red Bull and Trackhouse Racing unveiled new paint schemes for Connor Zilisch’s No. 88 and Shane van Gisbergen’s No. 97 Chevrolets ahead of NASCAR San Diego. For the first time in over a decade, two fully branded Red Bull cars will race together in NASCAR. Inspired by the unmistakable blue-and-silver rhombus design of the Red Bull Energy Drink, Zilisch’s No. 88 features a bold blue design, while SVG’s No. 97 is a striking silver scheme — bringing the iconic can design to the track.
• Two-Time Inaugural Race Winner: Van Gisbergen has etched himself into the NASCAR history books. The New Zealand native is a two-time NASCAR inaugural race winner after capturing last season’s Cup Series win at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City. In 2023, Van Gisbergen won his debut Cup Series race with Trackhouse’s PROJECT91 at the Chicago Street Race, becoming one of six foreign-born drivers to win a Cup Series race and the first driver since Johnny Rutherford in 1963 to win his first Cup Series start.
• Point Standings: Van Gisbergen enters this weekend in San Diego 14th in the Cup Series driver standings, six points above 16th-place, the final spot in The Chase.
• Red Bull in Victory Lane: Last season, van Gisbergen piloted the No. 88 Red Bull Chevrolet into victory lane at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway. That win marked Red Bull’s first victory in the Cup Series since 2011 (Kasey Kahne at Phoenix Raceway). The victory was van Gisbergen’s third of five wins he would rack up during his Cup Series rookie season.
• Watkins Glen Winner: Van Gisbergen put on an impressive show on May 10 at Watkins Glen, claiming his second checkered flag in back-to-back races at the 2.45-mile road course. Van Gisbergen secured his fifth career pole position, but first at the Upstate New York circuit. A caution in the final stage shook up strategy, and the No. 97 team opted to pit with 25 laps remaining. Van Gisbergen emerged in 26th place and 29.2 seconds back from the leaders. He charged his way through the field, retaking the lead in only 18 laps, leading the final eight laps and winning by 7.3 seconds. The New Zealander led four times for 74 laps.
• Road Course Records: The Watkins Glen win was van Gisbergen’s sixth victory in the last seven road course races. He tied Chase Elliott for most road course wins (seven) in NASCAR’s modern era. Van Gisbergen is now the winningest driver in Trackhouse Racing history.
• Meet SVG: Fans will have two opportunities to see van Gisbergen on Sunday. He’ll take part in a Q&A session at the Chevrolet Display in the Fan Zone at 9:15 a.m. local time before making an appearance at the Main Fan Stage at 9:30 a.m.
• Kiwis in San Diego: Last week in San Diego, van Gisbergen had the opportunity to meet New Zealand’s All Whites World Cup Soccer Team. Van Gisbergen connected with his fellow Kiwis and wished them luck as they prepare to compete on soccer’s biggest stage.

Everyone is saying the San Diego Qualcomm Circuit is going to be technical, what are your thoughts on it?

“I went to the track last week to do some promotional things, Turns 1 and 2, and the first half of the track was laid out, but around the airfield, there was still choppers there. So, I only saw a little bit of the layout, but it was really cool. It’s going to be a really rough and technical course, a lot of unknowns. Thursday will be an important day, when we get on-site and can have a look around the track, get a feel for everything.”

You mentioned you visited the circuit area last week. What stood out to you the most?

“The surface changes stood out to me the most. Some of it’s really nice, there is new tarmac there in Turn 2, and a couple of other places. Then, it’s really rough like Sebring (International Raceway), kind of with the big cracks and old asphalt. It’s going to be a real challenge to have a car that works all kind of surfaces and transitions to them.”

How do you think the course will suit your driving style?

“Well, it’s going to be very bumpy, so it’s all about the car then. You’ve got to have good suspension set up, soft and compliant. It kind of reminds me of Homebush (Street Circuit) in some ways. It’s a street track I did around the Olympic Park there in Sydney (Australia). The straightaways into little tricky sections and corners, nothing really flows, it’s all one to the other. Then we will put a corner here and here. It’s odd but that makes it a really good challenge. Getting in a rhythm will be really tough but will be important.”

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