After Chicago triumph, NASCAR drivers ask: Where to now? And who’s the next SvG?
Could Scott McLaughlin be next?
Joseph Newgarden?
What about the guy most people know solely by his first name, a function of him conquering the Formula 1 world seven times over — Lewis Hamilton?
The talk of the Atlanta Motor Speedway media center on Saturday still involved last weekend’s Chicago Street Race, the spectacle that saw the best stock car drivers in the world race on real streets in one of America’s largest metropolises. The first NASCAR Cup Series street race would’ve been historic no matter what, but it was made more special, perhaps, because it was won by Shane van Gisbergen — the New Zealand-born driver who won in his first Cup start and shocked most of the racing world in doing so.
So came a few natural follow-up questions.
Among them: Who could be the next van Gisbergen?
“That’s a good question,” AJ Allmendinger said, chuckling while mulling over his answer. ”Scotty (McLaughlin) would be crazy fast in it. The other guy I’d like to see is probably Scott Dixon. I mean, he’s been around IndyCar for so long. Get him in one of these cars.
“Obviously, he’s really fast when he goes to sports cars and things like that. So he’d be fun to have.”
The victory by van Gisbergen drew a remarkable, global reaction. The fact that NASCAR put on a great race despite all the obstacles — the lightning, the rain, the concert cancellations — was a victory in and of itself, drivers said.
But a few drivers right after the race expressed their shock that a newcomer won a Cup race in his first attempt. Chase Elliott was among those shocked, saying in part that van Gisbergen “is going to go home and tell all of his friends how bad we are.”
But as drivers said on Saturday: van Gisbergen’s win was not only unsurprising given his talent and his street racing experience and various other reasons — it also might’ve been good for the sport.
“There were probably a lot of people watching from Australia, New Zealand,” said Ricky Stenhouse Jr., this year’s Daytona 500 winner. “Watching those races, they battle really, really hard in those V8 Super Cars. You could tell that his race craft was really, really good, and when you watch those V8 Super Cars, you can see where that comes from.”
Stenhouse added: “I think there was definitely some speed that he had versus others (as part of TrackHouse Racing’s Project91). But I thought some were close if it was all dry and all normal. But he did a fantastic job driving through the field the way he did.”
Bubba Wallace agreed with Stenhouse.
“The fastest car won the race,” Wallace said, “so good for him.”
The other big question that came up in droves after Chicago’s triumph: Where to next?
NASCAR in recent years has made a lot of bold decisions in its Cup schedule. Among those bold moves include building the Chicago Street Race, reviving North Wilkesboro Speedway and transforming the L.A. Coliseum. And drivers hit on all of those notes when answering where NASCAR might go next — even when it’s suggested if they’d go out of the country.
“I think it would be great to go overseas,” said Joey Logano, who won the last time the Cup Series came to Atlanta Motor Speedway. “I’d be interested in it. I think it would be kind of fun. From the few times that I have gone to other places I do know a lot of people have interest in our sport because they never get to see it. If you never get the chance to see something, when it comes to your country it’s gonna be a big deal. It’s a big event. I believe it would be a huge event if we went somewhere to a different country that was far away from here somewhere.”
Kyle Busch seemed to sum it up well.
“I think last week kind of showcased that we can do a street event,” Busch said. “And we’ve also kinda proven that stadium aspect as well with the Coliseum — so that opens up a huge playbook.”
