You can say the 2024 season is officially here. The first ARCA practice of the season at Daytona featured Shane van Gisbergen, Marco Andretti, and others. This was a delayed first session that ended up going into the night. Today, a second session is already underway at the NASCAR track.
While there is world-class talent in this field, the usual suspects were near the top of the fastest lap times. Venturini Motorsports had the four fastest cars at the event. Jake Finch led the way with Toni Breidinger, Kris Wright, and Gus Dean following. All four are Venturini drivers.
However, Marco Andretti in his Cook Racing Technologies No. 17A Chevy was quick as well. He was unable to break the 49-second mark as the top-four did, but still fifth overall is solid. This is Andretti’s first ARCA experience and it has gone well by the looks of it.
Drivers Tanner Gray and William Sawalich of Joe Gibbs Racing were in 10th and 11th overall. Last year’s Daytona winner, Greg Van Alst was 16th overall. Amber Balcaen in the fifth Venturini car was down in 29th in terms of single-lap speed.
Then we shave Shane van Gisbergen who found himself down in 38th overall. His Pinnacle Racing Group Chevy wasn’t as quick. Then again, the three-time Supercars champ is getting the feel of things on the superspeedway.
His teammate, Connor Mosack, was 45th overall.
Three-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion Justin Bonsignore was also in this practice. He might make a full-season effort if he likes it enough and finds the sponsorship. So, this practice session had plenty of talent throughout.
We will see how much Shane van Gisbergen improves in the second ARCA practice.
Shane van Gisbergen testing out Daytona in ARCA
Of course, SVG is going to get a lot of laps in at Daytona over the next four to five weeks. He will race in the ARCA event in addition to the Xfinity Series race. Being his first ever superspeedway races, he will try his best to come across the line in one piece.
This is going to be the biggest challenge for van Gisbergen. Superspeedway racing is what makes NASCAR, NASCAR. Oval racing in general, but nothing compares to the high speeds and banks at Daytona or Talladega.
Shane van Gisbergen could go and win the ARCA race. Or he might find himself struggling with drafting and ovals in general. He has a goal of going full-time in the Cup Series by 2025. For that to happen, he has to take to these tracks quickly.
The second ARCA practice will reveal more from Shane van Gisbergen. It isn’t shocking to see Venturini outpacing everyone. However, Daytona is the great equalizer. We will see who comes away with that checkered flag in February.
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