Chicago Street Race winner Shane van Gisbergen reportedly set to ditch Supercars for full-time NASCAR ride in 2024
Shane van Gisbergen won the inaugural Chicago Street Race in his NASCAR debut and made history.
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Shane van Gisbergen (Credits: imago)
Ever since Shane van Gisbergen, the Australian Supercars legend, made history by winning NASCAR’s inaugural Chicago Street Race, there has been speculation that he is moving to the series next season. The 34-year-old stunned the motorsports world by winning a Cup race in his NASCAR debut. And there is a rumor that he might switch to stock car racing as a full-time driver in 2024.
The three-time Supercars champion (2016,2021,2022) won the Grant Park 220, NASCAR’s first-ever Chicago street race driving the No.91 for Trackhouse Racing’s Project 91 program. Though Van Gisbergen has a contract with the Supercars team Triple Eight Race Engineering till the end of the 2024 season, there is no doubt the NASCAR teams would be interested in signing him. He has gathered a fan base in the U.S. due to his brilliant racing in Chicago.
Shane van Gisbergen became the first driver to win on his NASCAR Cup debut since IndyCar driver Johnny Rutherford in 1963. He is also the seventh driver in modern NASCAR history to do so and the first Kiwi to win the Cup Series. Hence, he has become a sensation in the motorsports community. People in the Supercars paddock believe the 34-year-old will leave the category at the end of the season in chase of a NASCAR career.
Triple Eight team will support Shane van Gisbergen if he wants to move to NASCAR
Triple Eight team principal Jamie Whinecup also expressed his feelings regarding van Gisbergen’s potential career switch. Whinecup would give his blessings if his driver wanted to move to NASCAR. He said, “Of course, I’m trying to run the business as well as I possibly can and I need the best drivers, but if any driver, engineer, or 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.”
Jamie Whinecup added, “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 Supercars team will stand with Shane van Gisbergen in whatever decision he makes.
There is no hindrance for Shane van Gisbergen to move overseas. His team is supportive of his career, whatever it might be. However, it remains to be seen what he wants to do. Of course, his stunning Chicago victory might tempt him to move to the States and become a future NASCAR Cup Series champion. The ball is in his court, and he has time to decide whether to move to NASCAR or extend his time in Supercars.
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Sugantha Meena
(493 Articles Published)