Current Repco Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen will make his long-awaited NASCAR debut driving the Trackhouse Racing’s PROJECT91 Chevrolet in the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series Chicago Street Race on July 2.
“I can honestly say I have dreamed about an opportunity in NASCAR, but really never thought it would become a reality,” said van Gisbergen. “I can’t wait to get to the States to meet everyone and prepare for Chicago. It’s NASCAR’s first time on the streets of Chicago so in some ways everyone will be a rookie like me, but I don’t underestimate that it’s going to be a huge challenge.”
The event will mark van Gisbergen’s first NASCAR race and the third for PROJECT91 after appearances by 2007 Formula One World Champion Kimi Räikkönen at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International in 2022 and at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas on March 26.
Van Gisbergen plans to arrive in America in late June and accompany the team to the June 25 Cup race at Nashville Superspeedway then be in the Trackhouse race shop the week of the Chicago race.
“There is so much I have to learn about these cars and how the races are run,” said van Gisbergen. “The learning curve will be quite steep, but I am ready for everything they will throw at me. I know a lot of Kiwi’s and Aussies will be watching and I’m honored to get this opportunity.”
Van Gisbergen isn’t a stranger to America finishing second in the 2015 24 Hours of Daytona in the GTD class.
Van Gisbergen will join teammates Suárez and Chastain in the first-ever NASCAR Cup Series street race located in downtown Chicago. The event will take competitors past and through many of the city’s most renowned downtown landmarks on Michigan Avenue, South Columbus Drive, South Lake Shore Drive and the start-finish line near Buckingham Fountain.
The Cup Series will be joined by the NASCAR Xfinity Series as part of a one-of-a-kind sports and entertainment festival headlined by Miranda Lambert, The Chainsmokers, Charley Crockett, and The Black Crowes over the Fourth of July Weekend on July 1-2, 2023.
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