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Speculation about NASCAR’s first street course winner, Shane van Gisbergen, moving to stock car racing doesn’t seem to show any signs of abating any time soon.
Winner of the inaugural Chicago City Street Race, the New Zealand V8 Supercars driver has become the hottest driver to ever compete in Trackhouse Racing’s Project 91 programme.
While Shane van Gisbergen is under contract with the V8 Supercars Triple Eight team until the end of next season, he has made no secret of the fact that he has attracted interest from the United States of America.
His visit to victory lane in his first run in the top echelon of stock car racing made him a runaway success story in NASCAR, with the feel-good factor in his history working in his favor.
Many Supercars paddock staff have tipped 2023 as the three-time champion’s final season in the Australian Touring Car Series.
Triple Eight chief executive Jamie Winecup also made it clear that the team would not stand in the way of the 34-year-old Auckland native should he decide to pursue another racing streak.
With an illustrious V8 Supercars career already in Australia, Shane van Gisbergen could be eyeing a complete career change after his dream start in the NASCAR Cup Series.
If he continues with the same, it will be an understatement to say that the silly season of the driver market will kick off in full swing.
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Shane van Gisbergen’s Supercars team managing director on the Kiwi’s future plans
Jamie Whinecup, general manager of Triple Eight in the V8 Supercars series, has been one of the most supportive of Shane van Gisbergen’s move to NASCAR if he plans to.
After speaking on the topic earlier regarding the 34-year-old’s contract with the team, he explained to v8slueth.com.au and said:
“For us nothing has changed, we have a solid plan in place for 2024, but he can communicate that he wants to change the plan and we will go through the process of what that might look like. We will try to have a discussion as soon as possible, that’s for sure.”
In the Next Gen era of NASCAR, Shane van Gisbergen found himself in the middle of the perfect storm where racing cars similar to V8 Supercars on a street course allowed him to excel at what he did best.
It remains to be seen what comes of the noise regarding the Kiwi’s full-time NASCAR switch. Stay tuned for the latest updates.