Shane van Gisbergen's 2024 schedule has officially been revealed. The Australian Supercars standout, who scored a NASCAR Cup Series win in his debut event in 2023, will run full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and will run select races in the NASCAR Cup Series in the upcoming season.
SVG will pilot the No. 97 entry for Kaulig Racing full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2024, and per Trackhouse Racing, he will run a minimum of seven NASCAR Cup Series events.
“After winning in Chicago, I could not stop thinking about racing full-time in NASCAR,” said van Gisbergen in a team release. “I am still stunned at how quickly this has all come together. I must thank the NASCAR industry and fans for embracing me and allowing me to chase this dream. I respect every driver who has put in the work to make it to the Cup Series, and I am ready to put in that same effort. I am anxious to get started.”
Kaulig Racing says it has had long-standing conversations with Trackhouse Racing about putting SVG in an Xfinity car, and as those conversations progressed, it turned into a full-time situation.
“We started our talks with Trackhouse about the possibility of putting SVG in a Xfinity car for a few races quite some time ago, and from there the talks evolved to discussions about how much it would cost to run a full season,” said Chris Rice, president of Kaulig Racing. “Once we knew we had an open seat for next season, it became the perfect scenario to put him in the car. We partner with Trackhouse’s pit crew department, and with their key support from Chevrolet, it made teaming up an easy decision.”
SVG will serve as a teammate to AJ Allmendinger and Josh Williams, who were previously announced to the Kaulig Racing Xfinity program for the 2024 season.
WeatherTech will serve as the anchor partner for van Gisbergen in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Cup Series ranks. The company will also serve as the primary sponsor of Zane Smith's No. 71 Spire Motorsports entry in the season-opening Daytona 500.
The seven races currently on van Gisbergen's NASCAR Cup Series schedule for 2024 include Circuit of the Americas on March 24th, both events at Talladega Superspeedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 26th, the Chicago Street Race on July 7th, Watkins Glen International on September 15th, and Las Vegas Motor Speedway on October 20th.
The team and car number for van Gisbergen's NASCAR Cup Series effort in 2024 has yet to be announced.
Trackhouse Racing expects SVG to compete very well, but the team says the plan for 2024 was to get the 34-year-old more experience at oval tracks in stock cars.
“We know Shane will be incredibly competitive at the road course events in both the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity series, but we wanted to get him as much experience on NASCAR ovals as possible, so I am really excited about his 2024 schedule,” said Trackhouse Racing founder and owner Justin Marks. “Kaulig Racing has a history of winning in the Xfinity Series and as a fellow Chevrolet team, we are so thankful Matt Kaulig and Chris Rice see the potential in Shane that we see. The anticipation for this season is palpable.”
SVG is a three-time Australian Supercars Champion (2016, 2021, and 2022) and he scored victories in the prestigious Bathurst 1000 in 2020, 2022, and 2023.
The New Zealander impressed mightily in his two NASCAR Cup Series starts in 2023. In addition to scoring the victory in his series debut at the Chicago Street Race, SVG started eighth and finished 10th in his second-career start, which came at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course.
The driver got his feet wet on ovals by running the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, an event where he finished 19th, one lap off the pace.
Photo Credit: Tyson Gifford, Racing America
