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Social media reacts to SVG's NASCAR breakthrough

02 Jul 2023
Scott McLaughlin, Mario Andretti among well-wishers
2 mins by James Pavey

To no surprise, social media lit up following Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen's stunning NASCAR victory in Chicago.

Van Gisbergen, 34, powered his Project91 Camaro to victory on his Cup Series debut after a daring late move on Justin Haley.

The 78-time Supercars race winner became the first driver in 60 years to win his debut Cup Series race, and the first Kiwi to win a NASCAR race.

Former Supercars rival and long-time friend Scott McLaughlin, now an IndyCar star, tweeted the race with great interest.

After tweeting of his nerves from the lounge room, McLaughlin wrote: "Im so fkn happy for him. Enjoy every moment brother. NZ represent. Emotional."

A point raised by motoring journalist Fred Smith was that van Gisbergen and McLaughlin both quickly adapted to new machinery and won.

Van Gisbergen's Supercars squad, Red Bull Ampol Racing, also hailed their driver's stunning drive.

Motorsport.com journalist Nick DeGroot cited how rare non-American victories in NASCAR are, with van Gisbergen joining Marcos Ambrose on the list.

It attracted attention of none other than motorsport legend Mario Andretti, a former Formula One world champion and Daytona 500 winner.

Van Gisbergen's NASCAR breakthrough forms part of a wider motorsport success story, as cited by Supercars reporter Chad Neylon.

Several Supercars rivals, including teammate Broc Feeney, Brodie Kostecki, Todd Hazelwood and Thomas Randle, all commented support for the Kiwi.

Then, there were his adversaries on Sunday, with Hendrick Motorsport teammates Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson among the drivers in awe of the performance.

The 2023 Repco Supercars Championship will resume at the NTI Townsville 500 on July 7-9. Tickets are on sale now.

Townsville will be broadcast live on the Seven Network on the Saturday and Sunday of the event.

It will be broadcast live on Foxtel (Fox Sports 506) and streamed on Kayo on all three days.

International fans can live stream every Supercars race and qualifying session live and uninterrupted on SuperView.

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