Shane van Gisbergen confirms Supercars exit, signs NASCAR development contract with Trackhouse Racing

Shane van Gisbergen will move to the US to race in NASCAR races in 2024.

Shane van Gisbergen confirms Supercars exit, signs NASCAR development contract with Trackhouse Racing

Shane van Gisbergen (Via IMAGO)

Three-time Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen, who won the inaugural Chicago Street Race while in his NASCAR Cup debut, has signed a development deal with Justin Marks’ Trackhouse Racing. He will make selected starts in the Cup, Xfinity, and Truck Series races to get a deep understanding of the sport before making a full-time Cup move.

SVG made history at Chicago by becoming the first driver ever in 60 years to win a Cup event on his debut. He went on to start one more Cup race and make his Truck Series debut with the team. The Kiwi secured an impressive P19 finish on his Truck debut and is focused on ensuring a solid finish in the Supercars championship.

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While talking about the move, the champion driver pointed out that the announcement meant many things to me. He pointed out that the coming NASCAR adventure will be the biggest challenge of my career. He thanked his team, 888 Engineering, and Trackhouse Racing boss Marks for the opportunity he is excited to get started.

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“This announcement means so many things to me. 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…,” van Gisbergen said, as reported by Motorsports.com.

“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. I want to thank Justin Marks (Trackhouse founder and owner) and everyone at Trackhouse Racing who have taken a chance on me and given me this opportunity. I’m excited to get to America and getting the season started,” van Gisbergen added.

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Justin Marks admits that the NASCAR move is going to be a big challenge for SVG

Justin Marks and Ross Chastain
Justin Marks and Ross Chastain

Team owner Marks pointed out that the NASCAR move will be a big challenge for Gisbergen, who is a driver capable enough to tackle it. He explained Trackhouse’s plan for the driver in 2024. They want to get him acclimatized with 1.5-mile tracks and Superspeedways. He is confident that the driver will rise up to the occasion,

“This is going to be a tremendous challenge for Shane, but he is a tremendous driver as we have all seen. 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,” Marks said.

One challenge that Trackhouse has in giving van Gisbergen the opportunities is that the team doesn’t have any Truck or Xfinity Series operations. They might either have to expand their team or have to sign deals with teams to field cars for their driver. The Project 91 operations are enough for the Cup to start.

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