Kaulig Adds SVG For Full Xfinity Series Slate

WELCOME, N.C. – An alliance between Trackhouse Racing and Kaulig Racing will kickstart the full-time NASCAR career of international motorsports superstar Shane van Gisbergen next year.

Van Gisbergen, a three-time Australian Supercars champion who won in his NASCAR Cup Series debut on the Chicago Street Circuit in July, will contest the full NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule in the No. 97 Chevrolet for Kaulig Racing. He’ll also run a minimum of seven Cup Series events next year as well.

Van Gisbergen’s seven-race Cup Series slate includes Texas’ Circuit of the Americas on March 24, Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway on April 21, North Carolina’s Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 26, the Chicago Street Race on July 7, Watkins Glen (N.Y.) Int’l on Sept. 15, a return to Talladega on Oct. 6, and Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway on Oct. 20.

The 34-year-old from Auckland, New Zealand, landed in the United States Monday in preparation for his NASCAR journey to begin in earnest.

He’ll be the first Kiwi to ever run a full year in one of NASCAR’s three national series.

“After winning in Chicago, I could not stop thinking about racing full time in NASCAR,” noted van Gisbergen, who won his Supercars titles with Triple Eight Race Engineering in 2016, 2021 and 2022. “I am still stunned at how quickly this has all come together. I must thank the NASCAR industry and fans for embracing me and allowing me to chase this dream.

“I respect every driver who has put in the work to make it to the Cup Series, and I am ready to put in that same effort. I am anxious to get started.”

Trackhouse founder and owner Justin Marks first brought van Gisbergen to the NASCAR garage this season through the team’s PROJECT91 initiative, started as a way to bring international stars to NASCAR in competitive situations.

Past Formula One world champion Kimi Raikkonen also raced with PROJECT91 in 2022 and ’23.

“We know Shane will be incredibly competitive at the road course events in both the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity series, but we wanted to get him as much experience on NASCAR ovals as possible, so I am really excited about his 2024 schedule,” said Marks. “Kaulig Racing has a history of winning in the Xfinity Series and as a fellow Chevrolet team, we are so thankful Matt Kaulig and Chris Rice see the potential in Shane that we see.

“The anticipation for this season is palpable.”

Van Gisbergen has started two Cup Series races, finishing 10th on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course in addition to his Chicago victory. His only NASCAR oval experience came at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park in the Craftsman Truck Series, where he finished 19th and nearly ended on the lead lap.

He’s one of six foreign-born drivers to win a Cup Series race and became the first since Johnny Rutherford in 1963 to win in his first premier series start. It’s the latest bullet point on van Gisbergen’s stellar resume, which includes 78 Supercars race wins (fourth all-time) and 47 Supercars poles.

Among van Gisbergen’s Supercars victories are three in the Bathurst 1000 (2020, ’22-’23), Australia’s most famous motor race, which can be considered the country’s equivalent to the Daytona 500.

Kaulig Racing boasts two Cup Series wins and 23 Xfinity Series wins since its 2016 inception. Van Gisbergen joins teammates Josh Williams and A.J. Allmendinger as part of a three-car Kaulig Racing assault on the Xfinity Series championship next season.

“We started our talks with Trackhouse about the possibility of putting SVG in a Xfinity car for a few races quite some time ago, and from there the talks evolved to discussions about how much it would cost to run a full season,” said Kaulig Racing president Chris Rice. “Once we knew we had an open seat for next season, it became the perfect scenario to put him in the car. We partner with Trackhouse’s pit crew department, and with their key support from Chevrolet, it made teaming up an easy decision.”

The NASCAR Xfinity Series season begins Feb. 17 at Daytona Int’l Speedway with the United Rentals 300. Race coverage will be on FS1, the Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.