Is Shane van Gisbergen qualified for the 2024 NASCAR All-Star Race?
Three-time Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen won the inaugural Chicago Street race on his NASCAR debut.
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Shane van Gisbergen (Credits: Sportsnaut)
Shane van Gisbergen, the three-time Supercars champion, is one of the five successful Supercars drivers in the championship history. He drives the No.97 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Triple Eight Race Engineering in the championship. Recently; Van Gisbergen tried his hand at NASCAR’s prominent Cup series. The 34-year-old shocked the motorsports world with his natural talent to race and win the Cup race.
Van Gisbergen made his NASCAR debut at the Chicago Street course. He drove the No.91 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Trackhouse Racing’s Project91. Shane van Gisbergen had all eyes on him while going into the race. Having started from the second row, he won the inaugural Chicago Street race on his debut. He became the first driver to win on their Cup series debut since Indy Car driver Johnny Rutherford in 1963. Another notable achievement is that Van Gisbergen became the first New Zealander to win the NASCAR Cup race.
Shane van Gisbergen is known as a racing legend, and he proved it on the Chicago streets. The NASCAR world congratulated and celebrated him. It was a stellar performance by the Kiwi as he won on his debut, which hadn’t been done in 60 years. NASCAR drivers like Justin Haley, Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, and others praised him for his brilliant performance. He was in a league, and it was clean racing. Now that he won a Cup race in 2023, is he qualified for next year’s All-Star Race?
Is Shane van Gisbergen qualified for the 2024 NASCAR All-Star Race?
Before diving into the subject, let us see who can compete in the All-Star Race. There are 24 cars on the field, and 21 of them are predetermined. The other four will be based on the All-Star Open results, a race held two hours before the main race. According to the rules, the 21 predetermined cars are of drivers who won a race in the previous or current NASCAR Cup Series season. Cup champions and other All-Star Race winners can also participate.
According to the 2023 NASCAR Cup series rules and regulations, Shane van Gisbergen will be eligible for the 2024 NASCAR All-Star Race. He meets the requirement of being a race winner. Thanks to his Chicago race win. Hence he can compete in the race. However, there is a question, does he want to? Ever since his epic win on the streets of Chicago, many have speculated that he will move to NASCAR.
Is Shane van Gisbergen going to pursue NASCAR?
Despite his stunning NASCAR win, Shane van Gisbergen insisted that he will continue in Supercars. The 34-year-old has established himself as a brilliant driver in Supercars and NASCAR. He revealed that he is committed to Supercars for now. Van Gisbergen is also under contract with Triple Eight till the end of the 2024 season. However, his team boss Jamie Whincup said he wouldn’t stop the reigning champion from moving overseas. He wants to open up opportunities for all his employees and drivers.
Jamie Whincup also praised Van Gisbergen and said he would support all his decisions. Next month, they will discuss what the recent Cup star wants to do and come to a conclusion. Shane van Gisbergen will honor his current contract with the Triple Eight Race team. Though he read Whincup’s comments on being open with his move to NASCAR, Van Gisbergen has not spoken to him yet.
Shane van Gisbergen is interested in the NASCAR road courses. However, he claims the oval is a different world for him. He believes it would take him years to fight up front off the oval track. As it stands, Van Gisbergen is qualified for the 2024 All-Star Race. It remains to be seen whether he wants to compete or not.
In case you missed it:
- Kyle Larson’s team isn’t eagerly looking forward to the $7.5 million rewarding Atlanta Cup race.
- “Never felt so nervous,” Max Verstappen reveals he was ‘screaming’ while watching Shane van Gisbergen win the NASCAR Chicago Cup race
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Sugantha Meena
(493 Articles Published)