Shane van Gisbergen is an iconic figure in the Supercars Championship series in Australia and New Zealand. He has become one of the most successful drivers in the history of the racing series.
Van Gisbergen has also tried his hand at other racing disciplines. Recently, he drew great attention for his part-time entry into NASCAR, the top auto racing organization in the United States. As it turns out, NASCAR may be van Gisbergen's new home.
Signs on for a full-time ride with Trackhouse Racing
Shane van Gisbergen is moving to NASCAR, NBC and Yahoo reported.
Van Gisbergen has inked a deal with the team Trackhouse Racing. The team is co-owned by former NASCAR driver Justin Marks and Grammy Award-winning musician Pitbull.
Van Gisbergen has run two races with Trackhouse in the NASCAR Cup Series already in 2023. He made history by winning his first career start in the Series. In his next race, he notched a top-10 finish.
"This announcement means so many things to me," said the driver. He also said that the "adventure into NASCAR" would be the most challenging of his career. Van Gisbergen also expressed his continuing pride in his achievements in Australia. He also thanked those who helped him with his career, including his current racing team, Triple Eight Race Engineering.
Triple Eight Race Engineering is the fourth team van Gisbergen competed for in the Supercars Championship. He got his start in the Series during the 2000s. He'd previously had successes in others in his native New Zealand. Including the New Zealand Formula Ford Championship and what was then the Toyota Racing Series.
Van Gisbergen has gone on to win three Supercars drivers championships.
He has also twice won the Bathurst 1000, the most prestigious event in Australian motor racing. At present, he ranks fourth on the series' all-time wins list.
He is not the first star from the Supercars Championship to make victorious waves in NASCAR. Marcos Ambrose was a two-time Supercars driving champion when he moved to the United States.
Ambrose would win two Cup Series races and several more in the then-Nationwide Series.
He is also a former Endurance Cup series champion
Shane van Gisbergen has competed in a wide variety and assortment of racing series in his career. In 2021, he returned to the then-Toyota Racing Series. It has since become the Formula Regional Oceania Championship. That year, he was victorious at the New Zealand Grand Prix, the most coveted race of the Series.
2016, he was a contestant in the now-GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup. He was teamed with drivers Robert Bell of the United Kingdom Come Ledogar of France. The threesome scored the Cup Championship for the season.
The New Zealander has appeared in numerous other endurance races, such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
In 2015, he and his teammates finished second in their class at the 24 Hours of Daytona. Five years later, he competed on a team with Aaron Telitz. Telitz would win the overall IMSA SportsCar Championship a few months later.
