Three-time Supercar champion Shane van Gisbergen will make his NASCAR Cup Series debut Sunday driving the No. 91 Enhanced Health/Quad Lock Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race on the Chicago Street course.
The event will mark the third race for PROJECT91 after appearances by 2007 Formula One World Champion Kimi Räikkönen at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International in 2022 and at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas on March 26.
The 33-year-old van Gisbergen drives a Chevrolet Camaro in the Supercars Championship for Triple Eight Race Engineering, winning championships in 2016, 2021 and 2022. He owns 78 wins and 47 pole positions making him the fourth most successful driver in series history.
He’s won the Bathurst 1000 in 2020 and 2022.
Van Gisbergen isn’t a stranger to America finishing second in the 2015 24 Hours of Daytona in the GTD class. He’ll have a kindred soul in owner Marks who created Trackhouse Entertainment Group in 2020 after a driving career in sports cars and NASCAR. With the goal of creating a racing brand that transcends the sport, Marks formed Trackhouse Racing that took to the track in 2021 with Daniel Suárez behind the wheel.
In January 2021, the team announced a partnership with international superstar entertainer Pitbull who has been a frequent guest at NASCAR races and elevated Trackhouse’s presence through inclusion in several of his songs and music videos over the last two years.
Midway through the 2021 season, Trackhouse Racing purchased the NASCAR assets of Chip Ganassi Racing and began the 2022 season as its own two-car team with Suárez and Ross Chastain as drivers. Chastain gave the organization its first victory at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas on March 27, 2022 and won again the same year at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway on April 24. Suárez became the first Mexican (Monterrey) driver to win a Cup race when he dominated the Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway race on June 20, 2022. Chastain won Sunday’s race at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway.
Van Gisbergen will join Suárez and Chastain in the first-ever NASCAR Cup Series street race located in downtown Chicago. The event will take competitors past and through many of the city’s most renowned downtown landmarks on Michigan Avenue, South Columbus Drive, South Lake Shore Drive and the start-finish line near Buckingham Fountain.
Van Gisbergen spent the weekend before at Nashville Superspeedway, doing a 50-lap introduction run at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Monday and simulator sessions with General Motors this week.
Shane van Gisbergen:
HOW DOES SOMEONE WHO SPENDS MOST OF THEIR LIFE IN NEW ZEALAND AND AUSTRALIA FIRST DEVELOP AN INTEREST IN NASCAR?
“Yeah, it’s on every Monday there. It’s funny.. I was a big Tony Stewart fan when he was racing, and then of course Darian (Grubb) was his crew chief. So now getting to work with him is very cool and getting to know him. But yeah, the last few years, still kept in touch. Then of course with the opportunity this year, I’ve been watching most races trying to study. Always been a fan of it, so to get to jump straight into the Cup Series is pretty exciting.”
WHAT’S KIND OF STOOD OUT TO YOU ABOUT THIS CAR THAT IS DIFFERENT?
“Yeah, well the first thing is sitting on the other side of the car is tough. And then climbing through the window (laughs).. I’ve never done that before. Yeah, it’s quite different. But the technical side of things is pretty similar in the way the car is built. A big, heavy car. A lot of horsepower. It’s similar to what we have. It looks difficult. I’m going to find out tomorrow what it’s like at Charlotte (Motor Speedway) – I get a small run. But yeah, I’m just looking forward to it. I’m trying to keep my eyes open – try to learn this week and try to not have too many expectations about the street circuit. It looks so different to what NASCAR has done before. When you watch the COTA race and how crazy that was, it was a bit eye-opening. But I hope it’s not like that at Chicago.. that’d be crazy.”
WHAT ARE YOUR REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS FOR THE CHICAGO STREET RACE?
“Well I don’t really have anything, results-wise. I just want to do my best. I’ve prepared as well as I can, and I know the Trackhouse team runs some awesome cars. Meeting everyone and seeing how motivated they are. They’re nothing wrong with the equipment and the preparation. So yeah, I have no expectations, results-wise, but if I’m prepared the best I can be, we can achieve anything.”
YOU’RE ONE OF THE MOST DIVERSE DRIVERS ON THE PLANET. ARE YOU GOING TO TRY TO TWIST HIS ARM FOR AN OVAL TRACK RACE?
“We had a small chat about that earlier. I’ve never really thought about ovals too much, but yeah you’d love to have a go at it. Like watching yesterday and how committed the guys were in qualifying – they had the practice and then you sit around all day and you get one lap. To see how committed everyone was and see who was braver than the others into turn one, it was pretty cool to watch. It sucked watching, I wanted to be out there. So, yeah I’d want to have a go at it one day.”
IS THIS SOMETHING THAT IF IT GOES WELL, YOU’D COME TO AMERICA AND RACE WHETHER IT’S HERE OR INDYCAR?
“I think all of the above. It was a pretty exciting opportunity. I love Supercars and what I’m doing now, but starting to speak to Justin (Marks) about it last year and this year obviously sparked my interest in doing other things. I really just want to see how it goes. I haven’t been to America since before COVID time, so to be able to travel now and experience things again – yeah, we’ll see how it goes and maybe it will lead to more.”
Trackhouse Racing PR
