A general view of the NASCAR Cup Series logo. Pool Photo-USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Will Brown looking to become latest Aussie to impress in NASCAR debut

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated Jun 8, 2024 4:09 PM ET

Last July, Shane van Gisbergen shocked the world by winning NASCAR's inaugural Cup Series race on the streets of Chicago. Since then, van Gisbergen has won his first race in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and other Australian Supercar drivers, such as 2023 Supercars Champion Brodie Kostecki and Cam Waters, have made their NASCAR debuts.

While Waters will make his NASCAR Cup Series debut in the No. 60 car for Roush-Fenway Keselowski Racing, another Supercars driver, Will Brown, will also make his Cup Series debut and is already impressing early in the weekend.

Brown placed third on the speed chart in a 50-minute practice session for Sunday's Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma. While it's only one practice session, it seems like Brown has already taken a liking to NASCAR's Next-Gen car, as he only turned 21 laps in a session that made him look like a NASCAR veteran.

It’s his first time in a Cup car and he finishes THIRD in practice.

You are impressive, @will_brown87! pic.twitter.com/a5ocAhv2d4
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) June 7, 2024

Brown's practice performance was made all the more impressive by the struggles of his fellow Aussie, Waters. Waters struggled to find speed and even had a small incident in Friday's session. Waters was 35th fastest in Friday's practice, with just three cars turning slower laps.

Wow wow wow wow! pic.twitter.com/mwQ3wTI8Fh
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) June 7, 2024

Brown still has a qualifying session and 110 laps of racing to go before his debut NASCAR weekend is complete, but a solid showing in his debut would only reaffirm the drivers' talents from down under.

Another SVG-esque win may be unlikely, but as van Gisbergen proved in Chicago last summer, Supercar drivers shouldn't be taken lightly by the NASCAR field.

Qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series at Sonoma will occur at 6 p.m. ET Saturday on Fox Sports 2, while the race will go green on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET. The Toyota/Save Mart 350 will be broadcast on FOX, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

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