Shane Van Gisbergen, the three-time Supercars Champion, is back in NASCAR, confirmed by Kaulig Racing, competing in a full-season for the team, and playing in a part-time role with Trackhouse in the Cup Series.
SVG to whom people know him as made the NASCAR headlines last year after winning the inaugural Chicago Street Race in Downtown Chi-town, becoming the first driver in the modern era to win in his debut race across all of the series.
After that incredible and historic victory, the chances of seeing SVG for more races down the road are starting to rumble and after heavy consideration on moving over to NASCAR, Van Gisbergen adds to the line of outside-NASCAR drivers jumping ship to race.
Van Gisbergen will run his #97 in the Xfinity Series for next season, featuring a more prominent Trackhouse font compared to the standard Kaulig number font that many have become accustomed to.
Furthermore, SVG will also be bringing a new sponsor in the process as well, with WeatherTech being the primary for a handful of races next year, giving WeatherTech Racing vibes from IMSA.
Also in the process, WeatherTech will be jumping on board with Zane Smith in the process, who will be running in the Daytona 500 in the #71 car for Spire.
As for the Cup for Van Gisbergen, he will run a handful of races as mentioned prior for Trackhouse, featuring races at COTA, Chicago, Talladega and even the Coke 600 in Charlotte.
It is unclear whether SVG will be running races for Kaulig in Cup as well next season, but, we will have to wait and see until that time comes.
If past results say anything, SVG has the capability to win in any of NASCAR’s premier three series.
Truth be told, Van Gisbergen running in a full season will truly be a test but the expectations will be high and hopefully he can find success for a full season.
Don’t be surprised if he does grab two victories next season for Kaulig but if SVG can’t find any success next year, fans and media may be criticizing SVG going full-time.
We have seen many times in the past where drivers move over from another form of racing to NASCAR and don’t produce the same results.
While I’m not expecting SVG to go out and win in year one, hopefully we can see enough to justify the Supercars superstar being in the NASCAR on a full-time basis, but he at least has the team to do it.