With his latest win at Watkins Glen, Shane van Gisbergen once again showed why he has become one of the toughest drivers to beat. Beyond the victory, van Gisbergen's late-race surge prompted a technical breakdown from Dale Earnhardt Jr. about what makes SVG so effective.

Driving the No. 97 car for Trackhouse Racing, van Gisbergen started the Go Bowling at The Glen from pole position and led 74 of the race’s 100 laps. At one stage, he dropped around 30 seconds behind, but the New Zealander worked his way back through the field and passed 17 cars over the final 20 laps before taking the win.

Speaking on his podcast, 'The Dale Jr. Download,' Earnhardt Jr. discussed the clutch technique van Gisbergen uses on road courses and explained why it has been so difficult for other NASCAR Cup Series drivers to match.

“He's (SVG) right foot braking. And he's got his foot on the clutch. And so when he starts to feel the rear tires trying to get time, like the engine braking, trying to drag the rear tire or even induce wheel hop, he will modulate the clutch just slightly to dampen the load on the drivetrain,” said Dale Jr. 

Earnhardt emphasized that other drivers will likely struggle to replicate this specific mastery.

“This is a technique that you need to be doing from the day that you start driving race cars." He added that it’s not something drivers can just suddenly pick up, learn, and fully understand.

Earnhardt Jr. also said there is no chance another current NASCAR Cup Series driver could pick up that technique and make it work at the same level.

This ‘heel-toe’ braking has been a technique that he picked up from his time driving at the Australian circuits during his Supercars career.

An Old Skill That Sets SVG Apart At Road Courses

Prior to Dale Jr. talking about the right foot heel-toe braking, Shane van Gisbergen opened up about the same during an interview with Sports Rush in 2023.

During the interview, he revealed his secret, which is right-foot braking, where he uses his right foot to brake and simultaneously flicks the gas pedal, which helps in maintaining the momentum. 

 “It’s normal to me. I always right-foot brake and heel-toe. It’s what I’ve grown up doing. I only started left-foot braking last year in a rally car. So, yeah, to me, it’s normal. But I guess they don’t do it here anymore.” 

This technique existed in NASCAR before; however, due to changing shift patterns, it has fallen out of practice. 

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Written by

Chionia Libania Colaco

Edited by

Rudra Dubey