Repco Supercars stars take to Sonoma for the first time
SONOMA, Cali. — The NASCAR world this weekend is welcoming three Repco Supercars stars to Sonoma Raceway for the first time.
For one star, in particular, it’s definitely not his first NASCAR outing.
Shane van Gisbergen has two wins already in 19 starts across the top three national series but he has never raced at Sonoma before.
Cam Waters, who has two NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series starts, and Will Brown, who doesn’t have any prior NASCAR starts, also have never raced at Sonoma before. They’re here, thanks to Shane.
“I think since Shane came over, it’s really put it on the map. I think for a lot of Australians, it wasn’t that we didn’t love watching NASCAR. But we probably didn’t think it was possible to get a team to look at us and give us the opportunity to drive in NASCAR. After Shane did that, it’s opened up some doors,” Brown said.
Brown is in a third Richard Childress Racing entry this weekend in the NASCAR Cup Series.
“Meeting Richard last year, it sort of came on from there and I’ve stayed in contact. I didn’t think I’d be in this position a year ago, so it’s pretty exciting,” he said.
A year ago, no one could’ve imagined Shane van Gisbergen to be where he is now. A year later, everyone, including oddsmakers, expect van Gisbergen to have winning speed at every road course, including Sonoma. He lived up to the hype Friday, easily topping Xfinity Series practice with a time of 75.290 seconds, averaging 95.152 MPH around the 1.99 mile track.
What not many could’ve pictured is how well Will Brown did in NASCAR Cup Series practice. Brown was third-quickest in practice. He ran a lap in 73.389 seconds, averaging 97.617 MPH.
“The simulators work great the GM Tech Center. The guys at home in Australia race hard and these are fairly similar cars. I felt good coming into the weekend. I watched what SVG was doing, raced with him a lot. It’s great to have him as a spotter. I’ve still got a lot to learn in the car and how to race them. But I’m looking forward to tomorrow,” Brown told FS1.
Cam Waters had a tougher practice in the third RFK Racing entry. Waters spun in turn one, luckily avoiding major damage. He could only manage to run 35th-quickest with a lap of 74.829 seconds (95.738 MPH avg.)
Xfinity and Cup Series qualifying is Saturday afternoon at Sonoma Raceway.
MORE:
Categories
Cup, Feature, News, O'REILLY'S
Discover more from The Racing Experts
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com