TWO-TIME NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch has offered insight into his test of a Supercar this year.
As reported by V8 Sleuth, Busch hopped behind the wheel of an Image Racing VF Commodore – acquired by his Richard Childress Racing team – last month at Virginia International Raceway.
The V8 Commodore had previously been run in the Supercars Championship by the Holden Racing Team and Erebus Motorsport.
Through RCR’s burgeoning relationship with Erebus, Busch was joined by Brodie Kostecki at the Virginia outing.
MORE: Erebus open to NASCAR/Supercars wildcard
They’ll soon officially be teammates at a race weekend, with Kostecki to make his Cup Series debut in a third RCR Camaro at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on August 13.
“We tested together our V8 Supercar that we have at RCR earlier this year,” Busch said.
“(Kostecki) was there when we first went out and I think he had me covered by about two seconds a lap… by the end of the day, we actually ran times that were real comparable and right on top of his.
“It just took me a while to get used to those cars and what they are and how you can really attack corners. Just various driving techniques that those cars take.”
So while Busch believes Chicago winner Shane van Gisbergen will be the out-and-out favourite at Indy, he expects Kostecki to be competitive and a valuable asset to RCR.
“I think those guys are all very good at what they do, and they really understand the heavy stock car feel and basis for these road courses. So, I would assume that (Kostecki) will be strong as well,” added Busch.
“Hopefully I can lean on him and learn a lot from him and have some time in the sim and stuff like that with him that will allow us to be better off when we get there.”
Of van Gisbergen, Busch said: “I would say that the gap will be closer from Chicago to the rest of the field that he had. He had us all beat by six-to-eight tenths of a second a lap.
“I would say going into Indy we should all be within two-to-three tenths, but he will still be the best guy.”
