Shane van Gisbergen has a busy season ahead, with Trackhouse Racing confirming a 40-race NASCAR schedule for the three-time Supercars champion back in December, which included a full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series run with Kaulig Racing.
That program also included a seven-race stint in the NASCAR Cup Series for 2024, although the exact details of that effort weren’t buttoned up. At that point, the general assumption was those starts would be in a third Trackhouse Racing entry.
On Thursday, Trackhouse Racing and Kaulig Racing jointly announced that the 34-year-old driver would be keeping his NASCAR program in a single building, contesting his previously announced seven-race program in the No. 16 Chevrolet Camaro.
Van Gisbergen will make his first start behind the wheel of the No. 16 Chevrolet Camaro at Circuit of The Americas (March 24), with additional starts coming at Talladega (April 21), Charlotte (May 26), Chicago (July 7), Watkins Glen (September 15), Talladega (October 6), and Las Vegas (October 20).
“When I first started talking with Trackhouse about moving to the U.S., we had no idea how many races we could secure but I knew I wanted to be with that team and organization,” said Van Gisbergen. “There has been a lot of hard work to get to this point and I could not be happier to know that I get to race for an Xfinity Series championship and then get a proper go at the Cup Series on road courses and ovals.”
The Auckland, New Zealand-native joins Kaulig Racing, an organization that has captured a pair of NASCAR Cup Series victories, and 23 wins in the NASCAR Xfinity Series since the team’s creation in 2016.
“Kaulig is a proven winner in both the Xfinity and the Cup Series, and I know with the alliance with Trackhouse, this will be an incredible first year for me in NASCAR,” added Van Gisbergen.
Van Gisbergen is the third driver to be announced as piloting the No. 16 Chevrolet Camaro at NASCAR’s top level for 2024, joining Xfinity Series teammates AJ Allmendinger and Josh Williams.
“I’m excited to work with Trackhouse and have Shane join our Cup program this season,” said Chris Rice, President of Kaulig Racing. “When we locked in SVG for the Xfinity Series, it just became a natural next step on the Cup side since we have all the existing infrastructure and a relationship with the pit crews. Remember, SVG had to pass our car to win the Chicago race. We finished second. So, now we get to race with him which is kind of awesome.”
Justin Marks, owner and founder of Trackhouse, is excited to see what lies ahead for Van Gisbergen, who came to NASCAR on a whim as part of the PROJECT91 program, which was created to give international drivers an opportunity at NASCAR’s top level.
“Shane is one of the best talents I’ve ever seen.” said Marks. “We know he will be competitive on the road courses, so we needed to challenge him and ourselves on oval tracks against Cup Series drivers. This is a big freshman season for Shane, and I really appreciate Matt Kaulig and Chris Rice for helping us bring this to life.”
Van Gisbergen already has sponsorship pre-determined for a couple of his NASCAR Cup Series runs this season, with WeatherTech taking on events at COTA, Charlotte, Watkins Glen, and Talladega. Wendy’s will sponsor SVG in the Spring race at Talladega.
-- Photo Credit: Chris Graythen, Getty Images
