A New Zealander largely based in Australia has won a Cup race in what was a historic day for Stock Car racing in the United States and another historical moment in New Zealand motorsport history.

To be honest, Shane Van Gisbergen winning in Chicago was not much of a surprise as he has all but annihilated the Supercars competition in Australia on every challenging track the nation has to offer, his Stock Car was made by a team (Trackhouse) that knew how to win and once he got to the front, only stupidity would have denied him a win.

Racing in places like Surfers Paradise, Newcastle and Adelaide would have come in handy for SVG, for those who don’t know those places, they are tight and unforgiving places, just check out this Australian NASCAR race from 1991 on the longer Surfers Paradise layout to see the carnage.

Unfortunately for Supercars fans who wish he his domination would come to an end (especially Ford fans), SVG is staying for another year and then may get tempted to try his hand in the United States, if Scott McLaughlin can win oval races in an open wheeler, SVG can win Stock Car races on an oval too.

Cup fans may be delighted to know that there are other Supercar drivers willing to give the NASCAR run series a one-off shot (or more) or maybe they’ll be sick of the Oceania invasion though if the drivers have the Marcos Ambrose charm, they may not be annoyed for long.

Australians and New Zealanders have always had a great love for Stock Cars, we have had Calder Park Thunderdome and Adelaide International Raceway for oval racing, we have had Stock Car series in various guises (currently Stock Cars Australia) almost uninterrupted since 1988, Jim Richards from NZ won an Australian Stock Car title and was the first person to win an AUSCAR race in a Ford and so much more.