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If you’ve been living under a rock, you won’t have heard about Shane van Gisbergen’s legendary win at Chicago in his very first race in NASCAR. The one-off appearance is now getting an encore, with van Gisbergen already lined up for more Cup Series action.
As reported by V8 Sleuth, the Supercars series driver will return to NASCAR at the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard. The race will take place on the combined road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, giving the New Zealander another chance to show off his exquisite road course skills. Once again, van Gisbergen will be running with Trackhouse Racing as part of the team’s Project 91 arm.
“I never dreamed this could have all rolled out this way,” said van Gisbergen, adding “Just getting to race in NASCAR is an opportunity I never thought I would get, but then to win and get another chance this year is beyond anything I imagined.”
NASCAR stalwarts won’t just have van Gisbergen to contend with, either. Fellow Supercars driver Brodie Kostecki will also contest the Verizon 200, driving a third entry run by Richard Childress Racing. The deal came about after Kostecki’s Erebus Motorsport team sent a delegation to the U.S. earlier this year. There is one key difference that will disadvantage the fly-ins from the Australian series, though. Unlike the brand-new Chicago circuit, the Brickyard is familiar territory to the NASCAR field.
Much ink has been spilled over van Gisbergen’s fairytale NASCAR debut already. The 34-year-old driver stunned from the outset, having been fastest in practice and qualifying third on the grid. Mid-race incidents shuffled him down to 18th, but the Kiwi charged forward to take victory against all odds. It makes him only the seventh driver of all time to take victory on debut in NASCAR, and the first in the modern era. The achievement had NASCAR stars joking that van Gisbergen had shown them up on home turf.
The Chicago tale is perhaps a double-edged sword for van Gisbergen. On the one hand, his stellar effort helped net him a second NASCAR drive this year, which wasn’t on the cards until now. On the other hand, you can’t top victory on debut. Anything less than a podium could be seen as disappointing in comparison.
Nobody wins every race they enter, though, and van Gisbergen’s achievements in Indiana should be assessed on their own merits, rather than hype. He’ll be looking to impress, regardless. The rumor mill suggests he’s looking to go full-time in the Cup Series next year. If you’re nervous about that because you can’t pronounce his name, fear not. It’s “van-gizz-berr-gen,” with hard Gs all ’round. Or you could just call him Vizzy Gizzy like the true fans Down Under. Dealer’s choice.
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