Shane van Gisbergen to make second appearance for Trackhouse at Indy Road Course after Chicago win
Fresh off his victory in the Chicago Street Race earlier this month, Supercars Championship driver Shane van Gisbergen will return to the NASCAR Cup Series in August.
van Gisbergen, who raced his way to victory in his Cup Series debut, will again be behind the wheel of the No. 91 Chevy for Trackhouse Racing in the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course on Aug. 13.
van Gisbergen, the New Zealand native, chased down Chase Elliott and Justin Haley in the final laps on a rainy Sunday evening to become the first driver to win his Cup Series debut since Johnny Rutherford in the second qualifying race at Daytona in 1963.
“I miss racing in the States,” van Gisbergen said after his win in the Grant Park 220, via NASCAR.com. “I’ve done [the Rolex 24 at] Daytona four or five times now and just the way the American people are and how they go racing, it’s so much more enjoyable. And even doing the media stuff, which I hate, everyone here is really nice. They ask good questions and they’re respectful and it goes both ways. Everyone here has made me feel comfortable, and it’s so enjoyable the way the races are run.”
Trackhouse Racing owner Justin Marks, meanwhile, praised van Gisbergen for his ability to make the transition from Supercars to NASCAR.
“The [Supercars] are very similar and the talent there is unbelievable,” Marks said after Chicago. “Obviously, we had Marcos Ambrose in the [Cup] Series for a number of years. Scott McLaughlin came over and won in the IndyCar series… You look at Scott Dixon, guys from that part of the world. There’s so much talent over there, and I sort of thought of it as kind of an untapped resource. …
“Shane has had a lot of experience in cars like this. I figured if a guy like him could come over and we could put the program together like we have for Project91, that he could get to speed really, really quickly and be able to contend.”
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Triple Eight Race Engineering team principal Jamie Whincup won’t “stand in” van Gisbergen’s way should he pursue a ride in the Cup Series in 2024.
“He’s only contractually bound to us for next year,” Whincup said earlier this month. “Of course I’m trying to run the business as well as a I possibly can… I need the best drivers, but if any driver, engineer, employee came to me and said, ‘Hey, my dream is to go to the other side of the world and do something else’, I’m not going to stand in their way.
“I want to open up opportunities for all my staff. No doubt we’re going to have some discussions in the next month or so. And work out what he wants to do. He’s certainly got my praise whatever he wants to do, and we’re going to support him all the way.”
The reigning Supercars champion is locked in for one more season with Triple Eight Race Engineering after signing a new multiyear deal with the race team earlier this year. Ahead of his Cup Series debut, van Gisbergen said he wasn’t enjoying the Supercars Championship as much as he used to.
“Supercars isn’t that fun at the moment,” van Gisbergen said. “I’m not really enjoying it as much and starting to think about other things and look around. But my motivation for Supercars is high. I’m still trying hard and pushing as hard as I can. It’s complicated. Certainly now I’ve started watching NASCAR more again this year. Opportunities come up, and it’s appealing.”