van Gisbergen secures 2024 NASCAR birth
Thursday 14 September, 2023
Photo: Meg Oliphant
Three-time Repco Supercar Championship Champion Shane van Gisbergen today confirmed his plans to race with American NASCAR team Trackhouse Racing in 2024.
The agreement will see the 34-year-old race under the team's banner in a combination of races across multiple NASCAR formats including NASCAR Cup, XFinity Series and Craftman Truck Series.
The New Zealander made his mark in the popular American category at its inaugural Chicago street race earlier this year, where he shocked the American racing fraternity with an emphatic debut victory.
He would then go on to make his oval track debut at the world-famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway in August, where an impressive 10th place finish solidified his competitiveness.
“It is time for a new challenge and this adventure into NASCAR will be the biggest challenge of my career and one I’m really looking forward to,” van Gisbergen said.
“I want to thank Justin Marks (Trackhouse founder and owner) and everyone at Trackhouse Racing who has taken a chance on me and given me this opportunity. I’m excited to get to America and getting the season started.”
Currently sitting second in the Repco Supercars Championship standings, van Gisbergen has full intentions to finish what has been a thrilling 2023 season with Triple Eight Race Engineering - starting with the Penrite Oil Sandown 500 this weekend.
The three-time champion will depart the category as one of the most decorated drivers in its history – with 78 wins and 47 pole positions making him the fourth most successful driver on paper.
“This announcement means so many things to me,” van Gisbergen added.
“I’m proud of what I have achieved here in Australia, but I’m excited by this new chapter in my career and the opportunities that it brings.
“I’m so thankful to everyone who has played a role in my career so far, especially Triple Eight Race Engineering, and looking forward to finishing our year with a few more highlights.”
Trackhouse Racing Founder and Team Owner, Justin Marks welcomed van Gisbergen to the team and looked forward to beginning what would be a learning process.
“This is going to be a tremendous challenge for Shane, but he is a tremendous driver as we have all seen,” Marks said.
“Next year will be about getting him acclimated to oval track racing, superspeedways, 1.5-mile tracks and everything he has never experienced in his career. It’s obviously going to be a learning process, but we think Shane will perform quite well.”
Shane van Gisbergen will be back in action in Repco Supercars Championship this weekend when the Australia’s premier category kicks off its endurance season with Penrite Oil Sandown 500 - before joining Trackhouse Racing in the United States in 2024.