Shane van Gisbergen shows off Michael Jordan-inspired helmet for Chicago Street Race

When Shane van Gisbergen gets behind the wheel of the No. 91 Trackhouse Chevy, he’s going to be fitted with an amazing helmet design. The Kiwi will race in NASCAR‘s first-ever Chicago Street Race and he’s ready for it. For those that don’t know, the driver is a big-time winner in Supercars, winning three championships including the last two in the series.

If there is a street-course ace in the field, it has to be Shane van Gisbergen. While he’s used to driving a Chevy Camaro, the Next Gen car will definitely be different from his usual ride. The Project 91 team as Trackhouse Racing calls their third car has had some limited success with fill-in drivers.

No matter how he performs on the track, van Gisbergen is going to have a great-looking dome. Not that many people will be able to see his helmet during the race but he was kind enough to share a few photos online.

Featuring Red Bull, the American flag, and a bird version of Michael Jordan? – this helmet looks ready for its big debut.

New lid ready for racing in Chicago with @THProject91 🇺🇸😀 pic.twitter.com/qaVOMHGWK9

— Shane van Gisbergen (@shanevg97) June 19, 2023

If I had to put my Ornithologist hat on for a second, the bird looks like a black stilt. One would assume it is a Kiwi, but it just doesn’t match up quite right. But that has little to do with the Chicago Street Race, doesn’t it?

Shane van Gisbergen is incredibly talented and it will be very interesting to see him hit the streets of Chicago in a NASCAR Cup Series car.

Shane van Gisbergen coming to NASCAR from Down Under

It was back in May when Trackhouse Racing announced the addition of van Gisbergen to their No. 91 team. For a team that has fielded Kimi Räikkönen in the 91 in the past and is all about doing things differently, this makes perfect sense. They just so happened to lockdown a driver that has an incredible amount of wins.

In 462 stars in the Supercars Championship, Shane van Gisbergen has posted 79 wins and 174 podium finishes. In his 2022 championship season, the driver won 21 of 34 races on the year. Already in 2023, his first season in a Chevy Camaro ZL1, he has three wins and three more podium finishes to his record.

It isn’t the dominance that van Gisbergen had in his Holden ZB Commodore. However, his dominance is still evident in his main series.

Trackhouse Racing has a good driver coming to the Chicago Street Race. If he can learn quickly, there is a chance Shane van Gisbergen could post a top-10 or better. Let’s not count out these one-off drivers too much.