Supercars star Shane van Gisbergen gears up for NASCAR debut in Chicago

Next on the roster for Trackhouse Racing’s exciting Project 91 program is Australian Supercars Championship competitor Shane van Gisbergen, set to make his first NASCAR Cup Series start at the Chicago Street Course on July 2.

van Gisbergen, a highly-decorated street racer, will vie for the victory in the team’s No. 91 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 during the historic race weekend in the Windy City. van Gisbergen is currently fourth in the series standings down under and is the defending champion after a record-breaking season in 2022, bringing his career total to 63 wins and 152 podium finishes.

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But for the 34-year-old wheelman, racing in NASCAR is the opportunity of a lifetime.

“I can honestly say I have dreamed about an opportunity in NASCAR, but really never thought it would become a reality,” van Gisbergen, a New Zealand native, said in a team release. “I can‘t wait to get to the States to meet everyone and prepare for Chicago. It‘s NASCAR‘s first time on the streets of Chicago, so in some ways, everyone will be a rookie like me, but I don‘t underestimate that it‘s going to be a huge challenge.”

van Gisbergen will aim to add a NASCAR Cup Series victory to his extensive resume, highlighted by three Supercars championships (2016, 2021 and 2022) and victory in Australia’s grueling Bathurst 1000.

Though van Gisbergen races a Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in Australia, the model currently competing in the Cup Series, and has a long list of racing accomplishments, Trackhouse Racing owner Justin Marks knows this is a big opportunity for van Gisbergen to compete stateside and familiarize himself with North American race fans.

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“I‘ll concede the American racing fan might not be as familiar with Shane as they are with Kimi, but if you talk with anyone in Australia, New Zealand and that part of the world, they will tell you he is one of the most talented drivers on the planet,” Marks said. “He‘s used to street racing in heavy cars, and I think everyone will be very impressed with his performance.”

Well, based on his incredibly-detailed helmet design, it’s safe to say he’s off to a very good start.

van Gisbergen is the second in a growing list of international drivers to make their NASCAR debut via Project 91, following Räikkönen, the former F1 champion, who raced at Watkins Glen International in 2022 and Circuit of The Americas in 2023. Marks stated in May that there will be ‘multiple‘ drivers behind the wheel of the team’s third entry this season alongside Cup Series regulars Ross Chastain and Daniel Suárez.

6/26 UPDATE: van Gisbergen was on hand at Nashville Superspeedway on June 25 to talk about his upcoming Cup Series debut, indicating that he and Marks had briefly talked about the potential of SVG running an oval-track race at some point:

“We had a small chat about that earlier,” van Gisbergen said during a press conference Sunday. “I‘ve never really thought about ovals too much, but yeah you‘d love to have a go at it. Like watching yesterday and how committed the guys were in qualifying — they had the practice and then you sit around all day and you get one lap. To see how committed everyone was and see who was braver than the others into Turn 1. It was pretty cool to watch. It sucked watching, I wanted to be out there. So, yeah I‘d want to have a go at it one day.”