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Van Gisbergen wants NASCAR future

By Thomas Miles

Shane van Gisbergen has admitted he has more than a passing interest in a full-time NASCAR Cup Series career.

The man who has won the last two Supercars championships will be seen driving a Chevrolet Camaro this weekend, but not the Triple Eight Gen3 version.

Instead van Gisbergen will be racing in Chicago representing Trackhouse Racing’s Project 91 in the NASCAR Chicago Street Race, just one week before the Townsville 500.

Whilst the Kiwi remains behind the wheel of a Chevrolet Camaro, it will be a completely different world in the northern hemisphere as he follows in the footsteps of Marcos Ambrose and Dick Johnson to make his NASCAR Cup Series debut.

Shane van Gisbergen

Shane van Gisbergen driving the Project 91 Camaro for the first time at Charlotte.

Interestingly van Gisbergen was an honest figure when speaking with the press pre event, especially around why and how the NASCAR opportunity presented itself, while it was clear he fancies racing the category every week in the future.

The Kiwi said his decision to look for a new challenge in the most famous stock-car racing series on the planet was sparked by his growing frustrations in Supercars.

Despite describing his current motivation for more success in Supercars including a hat-trick of titles this year as “high” van Gisbergen admitted “complicated” issues are hampering his enjoyment of the main game.

Suarez and Gisbergen Trackhouse

Shane Van Gisbergen with Trackhouse Racing regular Daniel Suarez.

“Supercars is not that much fun at the moment,” he said.

“I am not really enjoying it as much and have started to think about other things and look around.

“My motivation for Supercars is high and I am still pushing as hard as I can, but I don’t know, it is complicated.”

Shane van Gisbergen in his Trackhouse Racing gear at Charlotte. image: Shane van Gisbergen Facebook

When van Gisbergen expanded further about his experience in America so far, his enthusiasm and passion for NASCAR was impossible to ignore.

A near weekly 38-race schedule from February to November including non championship races would sound exhausting to some, but its dreamland for a racer like the van Gisbergen.

With NASCAR expanding its road-course range from just Watkins Glen and Sonoma to include Chicago, Indianapolis and Charlotte in addition to the traditional ovals which have a mix of formats on different styles of tracks, the season offers plenty of variety.

Shane van Gisbergen

Shane van Gisbergen has admitted racing and winning in Supercars is starting to become ‘not that much fun’. Photo by Mark Horsburgh / LAT Images

Having tested the Trackhouse Racing Project 91 Camaro at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the Kiwi was also pleased with how relatable the “fun” car was to drive.

These are just some of the reasons why van Gisbergen finds NASCAR so “appealing” and why he may entertain the prospect of joining Marcos Ambrose as the only former Supercars driver to go full time NASCAR Cup Series racing if the opportunity presented itself.

“It is not really something I am pursuing at the moment. I am just coming into this week with open eyes to take it all in and enjoy myself,” he said.

SVG Charlotte test

Shane van Gisbergen will race a blue #91 Trackhouse Racing Camaro at Chicago this weekend.

“I have started watching NASCAR more again now the opportunity has come up and seeing what the oval was like (at Nashville last week) how the teams work and what the routine is like racing every week is something that appeals to me.

“They do so many more road courses now and not just an oval every week, the series has a lot of variation and formats.

“The cars are also similar now. Two years ago the cars were so foreign you could not jump in straight away and would have to go up the ladder, but now they are a lot more relevant to any driver around the world.

“Racing every week would be pretty cool, while in Supercars it is mid year and we have only done five races.

“I am fully focused on Supercars for this year and next, but if something comes up I will definitely entertain it.”

For more of the latest motorsport news, pick up the latest issue of AUTO ACTION.

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PODCAST: The latest episode of the Auto Action RevLimiter podcast is out now!

Supercars just pulled the trigger on parity & Shane van Gisbergen tests his NASCAR prior to the Chicago big event. We discuss this and more in the latest podcast.

Andrew Clarke and Auto Action’s Bruce Williams and Paul Gover sat down for a candid chat on the teams, drivers and the #Supercars series championship.

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