Shane van Gisbergen will run another NASCAR Cup race after conquering Chicago
Shane van Gisbergen has decided to run it back.
The New Zealand-born race-car driver — who captured the racing world’s attention when he won in his first NASCAR Cup Series start in Chicago earlier this month — will make another NASCAR appearance in a few weeks.
He’ll race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on Aug. 13, again with Trackhouse Racing.
“Just getting to race in NASCAR is an opportunity I never thought I would get, but then to win and get another chance this year is beyond anything I imagined,” the 34-year-old driver said in a statement on Wednesday. “I can’t thank (Trackhouse founder and owner) Justin Marks, everyone at Trackhouse Racing and NASCAR for this opportunity. Everyone in NASCAR welcomed me to Chicago and it’s been awesome to see how big the reception from that race has been around the world. I am honored to be part of it.”
Van Gisbergen became one of six foreign-born drivers to win a Cup race when he took the victory in the historic Chicago Street Race. He was also the first driver in 60 years to win his first Cup start — a mark even more impressive considering NASCAR is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year.
The three-time Supercar champion will again race the No. 91 Chevrolet for the Trackhouse Racing team’s Project91 program. Project91 is essentially an innovative effort from THR to bring in some of the biggest names in motorsports from around the world to specific Cup Series races, and to have them be competitive — to capitalize on the “significant global interest” the racing world has in NASCAR.
Formula 1 champion Kimi Räikkönen has raced for Trackhouse twice in this effort — both on road courses — but neither run yielded a legitimate winning chance. That’s part of what made van Gisbergen’s win in early July so special.
Industry officials and drivers have surmised that van Gisbergen’s quick success in NASCAR can partially be attributed to his time in the vehicle the Supercars championship runs in, which is similar to a Next Gen car. This has inspired at least one other race team to reach into the Repco Supercars championship realm for a one-off road-course effort: Brodie Kostecki will run for Richard Childress Racing at Indy, too. He’ll debut in the No. 33 car.
Other drivers from other series moonlighting at Indy include F1 champion Jenson Button and FIA World Endurance Championship driver Kamui Kobayashi.
Marks, the Trachouse Racing owner, admitted in a release that he began thinking about bringing Gisbergen back immediately after Chicago.
“After a performance like that, it’s only natural to want to keep this going,” Marks said in a statement. “Shane showed he is a world-class talent and what he did in Chicago was truly remarkable.
“PROJECT91, Trackhouse Racing and the fans of NASCAR benefit by bringing him back. I don’t think I am being overly dramatic when I say the entire motorsports world will be watching the No. 91 Chevrolet at Indianapolis.”
This story was originally published July 19, 2023 at 7:39 PM.
