Yahoo Autos How NASCAR Stars Taught F1 Drivers the Art of Stock Car Racing
As part of the cross-promotion of Red Bull-sponsored drivers, Trackhouse's Conner Zilisch and Shane van Gisbergen had the opportunity to introduce F1 drivers Yuki Tsuonda and Liam Lawson to the world of American dirt oval racing earlier this year.
The foursome met at Cotton Bowl Speedway, an hour west of the Circuit of the Americas in Paige, Texas, to take a couple of stock cars sliding around the dirt oval. The VCARB F1 drivers are used to being glued to the track at insane speeds and were unfamiliar with how a stock car would handle, especially on dirt. Zilisch, who is just months away from his rookie season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and van Gisbergen, the same in the Cup series, are the perfect ringers to introduce the open-wheel drivers to stock car racing.
Both NASCAR drivers bounce around from discipline to discipline more than most. Zilisch has been racing and winning in karting, stock cars, Cup-spec MX-5s and endurance racing. Van Gisbergen is a multi-time Australian Supercars champion who won in the NASCAR Cup Series before he ever had plans to race there, turning a win on debut at Chicago into a career in America one year later.
Road & Track talked with Zilisch and van Gisbergen about what they learned from coaching F1 drivers and what it means to have your racing strengths transfer across the motorsports landscape.
Van Gisbergen was quick to pick his fellow countryman when the Red Bull competition got started.
"Yuki just got in and drove," van Gisbergen said. "He was just out of control. Liam was more analytical and trying to figure it out. Yuki was just foot to the floor and going. It was very interesting to watch their different styles."
Tsunoda took to the track with no fear, pedal to the medal, while Lawson took more time to take in what was going on in the barebones stock car.
Van Gisbergen is convinced that he races a bit more Lawson than Tsuonda, "I think I’m more on Liam’s side, more on the analytical side and trying to understand why things go fast. When I need to just jump in and go, I can as well."
After splitting the first two challenges, Tsunoda had the choice of lane for the five-lap sprint race, and Zilisch was not allowed to persuade his choice. Tsunoda chose the top and ended up winning.
Zilisch isn't sure he would've made the same lane choice.
"I probably would have taken the low line just because of leverage, and I feel like in dirt racing, it's a lot easier to win from the bottom," Zilisch said. "You're kind of in control, but the high line was more moist where they're firing off, so there's probably more grip up there; it would have been a toss-up for me."
The F1 drivers traded in their usual 1,000+ horsepower for less than half of that when they hopped into the dirt stocks.
"I was impressed with his car control, just cause those guys are so used to being glued to the racetrack," Zilisch said of Tsunoda. "I feel like I was surprised to see he was able to handle that well."
On the final lap, Lawson slid by Tsuonda for the lead, but the Japanese driver took it right back to secure his victory. Zilisch and van Gisbergen were excited to see the F1 drivers attempting dirt moves and racing each other hard during the friendly competition.
"SVG and I were kind of messing around and trying to get them to race each other," Zilisch laughed. "Just because we wanted to see what they would do around each other. It was cool to see Liam try that even though it didn’t work and didn’t stick, it’s the thought that counts."
The freshly 18-year-old Zilisch thought that it was hardest for the F1 drivers to grasp the amount of self-regulation that goes into racing behind the wheel of a stock car.
"Throttle control is the biggest thing for those guys," Zilisch said. "It’s just a little bit different because in an F1 car, you're able to put the power down pretty quick, and I feel like all the formula cars, you're able to do that as well, having to manage that on the dirt and roll into the throttle is something new to them."
Back in 1997, nine years before Zilisch was born, van Gisbergen got his start racing quarter midgets around rural New Zealand, making coming to Cotton Bowl a bit of a return to his roots. While Zilisch has the chance to hop into a dirt car at Millbridge Speedway or other tracks around the country, van Gisbergen hasn't yet in his whirlwind entry into American motorsports.
"I'd love to race some sprint cars or something around here," van Gisbergen said. "One of the tracks where I learned to race was the Waiuku dirt track in the middle of nowhere, on the outskirts of Auckland."
"I find it amazing when you're driving or even flying; there are so many tracks everywhere, even motocross tracks in people's backyards. It's really awesome to fly around or drive around; you're just looking to see these places everywhere; there's a huge motorsport culture all across America."
With their respective rookie campaigns ahead of them, Zilisch and van Gisbergen are both happy to have a friend and teammate in the other.
"It's fortunate that I have a guy like him who shares some of the same struggles and the same strengths when it comes to NASCAR," Zilisch said. "Getting to experience it all with him has been a really cool experience for me. I'm excited to see what he does in the Cup series."
"We’re a lot of years apart but on the same sort of journey," van Gisbergen said. "It’s a huge learning year, and it’s a stepping stone to the cup series. If it’s one year or two, he’s got a lot to learn. We’ve seen his talent, and winning his first race at Watkins Glen was a huge achievement."
Both drivers took their first win in their first race in a series where they will finally officially compete as rookies next year. Zilisch, after surviving multiple overtimes at Watkins Glen this year, went back-to-back with ARCA and Xfinity Series wins, and van Gisbergen in his ringer performance in the inaugural Chicago Street Race. Zilisch will run the full 2025 Xfinity Series season on loan to JR Motorsports and van Gisbergen will jump to full-time Cup Series competition with the pair's official employer, Trackhouse Racing.
"It’s a big jump for both of us," Zilisch said. "I feel like we’re both pretty prepared for it."
You Might Also Like
