SVG runs in NASCAR ARCA test at Daytona, adjusts to new life: 'Our world has changed a lot since Chicago'.

Over the course of six months, Shane van Gisbergen went from the unlikeliest of NASCAR Cup Series winners to a full-time Xfinity driver in the Kaulig Racing camp, with at least seven more Cup races for Trackhouse Racing coming as well.

And with that whirlwind came a move halfway around the world from Australia to the United States and a crash course in the art of stock-car racing, particularly on ovals. Its learning curve that took another step forward on Friday night and Saturday morning at Daytona International Speedway during a two-day ARCA Menards Series test.

And yet, van Gisbergen said that maybe his biggest adjustment behind the wheel hasn’t come in a racecar, but in his personal vehicle.

“Driving on the other side of the road,” he said. “Stuff like that is a big difference, but it’s been cool so far.”

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The three-time Supercar champ and native of Auckland, New Zealand, took the racing world by storm in July, becoming the first driver since Johnny Rutherford won a qualifying race before the Daytona 500 in 1963 to win his Cup Series debut. And all at the much-anticipated, well-received Chicago Street Race, NASCAR’s first foray into such racing.

Immediately, van Gisbergen voiced that he was open to a career change at age 34, and Trackhouse, with whom he won at Chicago, obliged, inking him to a deal and teaming with Kaulig to give the man known as “SVG” full-time status just a step away from the Cup Series.

Along the way came a second Cup start on the Indy Roval, where he finished 10th, and a single Truck Series race in which he came home 19th at Indianapolis Raceway Park, his lone start on an oval in NASCAR to date.

Since then, the learning has come hot and heavy. As a precaution, NASCAR is making van Gisbergen run the ARCA race at Daytona on Saturday, Feb. 17 before he’s permitted to run in the Xfinity Series race that same night. All of that brought him to the World Center of Racing this past weekend.

“It’s been a whirlwind and a lot of work has gone into it,” van Gisbergen admitted. “The excitement around it is what’s made me do it. It’s so enjoyable. It’s a big challenge for all of us but the potential is huge to tell a cool story here with Trackhouse. Myself, my girlfriend and our dog moved halfway around the world to come have a crack and have some fun.

“Our world has changed a lot since Chicago. We were both pretty happy in Australia but to get this opportunity … we were ready to come have a go but enjoy ourselves along the way.”

As is often the case in Florida, Mother Nature had the first word on Friday’s proceedings, delaying the start of testing from its original morning start all the way to 5 in the evening. And before he ever got in a car, SVG was learning.

“It’s weird, when it rains where I’m from, we just put wet tires on and keep going,” van Gisbergen observed. “It’s weird just waiting for the track to dry. But that just added to the anticipation.”

Once the weather finally broke, van Gisbergen absorbed all he could.

“You’re just trying to keep the car smooth, but I wouldn’t say it was easy. It’s still a challenge,” he surmised. “Just got a feel for it. Got out on the track and when I was comfortable at night, which was awesome, we got around other cars and got a feel for it all.

“Mainly just the Gs. I hadn’t really felt that in the corner, the way the corner is pushing against you and you just sink into the seat. There’s a fair bit of pressure there. It was just cool to be out there. The simulator can only do so much for you.

"Around cars, it was kind of what I expected. You can’t see much when you’re right behind them so you try to take a peak and look out but that slows you down when you get out of line. Just the little things I’ve been told about but you don’t really know until you get out there and feel it for yourself.”

Certainly, when looking for advice in the Trackhouse and Kaulig camps, there’s plenty of options in Ross Chastain, Daniel Suarez, AJ Allmendinger and Daniel Hemric, among others. As for how much he’ll lean on them?

“As much as they let me,” he said.

While he’s cramming for the Daytona doubleheader that awaits him in mid-February, there’s plenty of racing at a number of ovals and road courses beyond that. He admits his Cup Series win likely brings expectations with it, at least from the outside. But for him, success in Year One as a stock car driver won’t be measured in lap times, top 10s or final points standings.

“Getting to the end of the year with a smile on my face,” he said, listing the main goal for the 2024 season. “Even when we were at Indy and we finished 10th, it was still a lot of fun and we all enjoyed it.

"That’s what it’s all about at the end of the day, putting on a good show and everyone around us, supporting us, enjoying it. Results do help but they don’t define success, really.”

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: NASCAR: Shane van Gisbergen tests at Daytona, talks life in America