Van Gisbergen reacts to NASCAR Xfinity Series debut

SHANE van Gisbergen has dubbed his first NASCAR Xfinity Series race “wild” after a topsy-turvy run to 12th at Daytona International Speedway.

The #97 Kaulig Racing driver was caught up in various incidents along the way, but recovered to finish on the lead lap – more than could be said for his crash-affected ARCA Series debut on the weekend.

Having qualified a fine fifth before various weather-enforced delays to the Xfinity race, van Gisbergen reported positively about the experience.

“I was wondering what it was going to be like and once I settled in, I really enjoyed the flow of it,” he told Sportsnaut.

“I made one error with the #27 (Jeb Burton) getting up, I misjudged how quickly it side-drafted him back and unfortunately I just spun him out.

“So that was a shame to make that error, but the rest we just got involved in other people’s messes.

“It was crazy. The pit crew did an awesome job, the WeatherTech Chevy is pretty beaten up but still got a great result.”

Van Gisbergen described the race as like nothing he’s experienced before and is eager to get to work on improving his craft on superspeedways.

First on the homework to-do list?

“Just what I did wrong with the #27, how I backed up there, and then just learn to relax,” he said.

“Like you have got to let the car flow and it took me a little bit to get used to that, and we probably made an adjustment we didn’t need to, because then it got pretty tight after.

“I just need to let the car flow under me a bit better.”

The Xfinity season continues next weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway.