Trackhouse Racing and Kaulig Racing partnered Wednesday to announce that Shane van Gisbergen will compete full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2024. In addition, it was announced SVG will take part in seven Cup Series races under the partnership.
The Matt Kaulig-owned team is set to field a full-time No. 97 Chevrolet entry for the 34-year-old New Zealander known as “SVG,” whom Trackhouse signed on Sept. 13 to bring his talents from the Australia-based Supercars Championship to NASCAR. The No. 97 is a nod to the car number he carried in winning three Supercars titles for the Red Bull Ampol Racing/Triple Eight Race Engineering team.
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Primary sponsorship for 17 of van Gisbergen’s Xfinity races will come from WeatherTech, the Illinois-based manufacturer that recently extended its entitlement sponsorship deal with the IMSA sports-car series through the 2030 season. It was also announced that WeatherTech will be the primary sponsor for Zane Smith for the Daytona 500 in the No. 71 Chevrolet fielded by Spire Motorsports and for four of van Gisbergen’s Cup races (Circuit of The Americas, Charlotte, Watkins Glen, fall Talladega).
The seven Cup races for van Gisbergen in 2024 include COTA, both Talladega Superspeedway races, Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Coca-Cola 600, the Chicago Street Race, Watkins Glen International and the October race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Trackhouse founder Justin Marks indicated in September that van Gisbergen’s 2024 itinerary would be a curated combination of events from all three of NASCAR’s national series. With a full Xfinity Series schedule ahead of him, SVG will be exposed to a variety-packed list of 33 races — including superspeedways, intermediate-sized layouts, short tracks and road courses.
Van Gisbergen was recruited for stock-car racing in the United States last year by Marks through his Trackhouse Project 91 initiative. SVG helped that part-time program — designed to showcase international racing stars — to break through in its second year of operation, wowing the Cup Series regulars with a stunning victory in his debut at the inaugural Chicago Street Race.
MORE: 2024 Cup schedule | 2023 Xfinity schedule
At Kaulig, van Gisbergen will partner with Xfinity Series teammates AJ Allmendinger, who stays with the organization but shifts from the Cup tour, and newcomer Josh Williams.
Van Gisbergen is set for his Xfinity Series debut in the season-opening United Rentals 300 (Feb. 17, 5 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Daytona International Speedway. He has three NASCAR national-series starts — two in Cup (Chicago, Indianapolis road course) and one oval appearance in the Craftsman Truck Series (Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park).