The Kiwi will further accelerate his move to the NASCAR system by participating in two separate events in Indianapolis later this week.
The first is a debut in the third-tier Truck Series with the Trackhouse Racing-aligned Niece Motorsports squad.
That will come at Indianapolis Raceway Park, marking van Gisbergen’s first race on a bitumen oval.
He will then make a second Cup Series start for Trackhouse at the Indianapolis road course.
Both outings will garner plenty of attention off the back of van Gisbergen’s sensational Cup Series win in Chicago.
However the three-time Supercars champ is keeping expectations of his oval debut in check, predicting a tough initiation.
He expressed that he has never given much consideration to ovals, but he has always mentioned his desire to try it out. He anticipates getting the opportunity on Friday night.
There is no doubt that it will be a challenging learning process.
Regarding the Cup Series race, van Gisbergen expressed that it would undoubtedly present a contrasting experience compared to the Chicago street course.
“I will need to quickly catch up, but we have scheduled ample simulator sessions, and I am confident that [crew chief] Darian [Grubb] will be fully ready for Indy.”
“We must enter and give our utmost effort, while also racing with courtesy. These individuals are consistently striving for their championship, so I need to enter and avoid any complications.”
Van Gisbergen is scheduled to make a full-time move into the NASCAR system in the upcoming year, which means he will be leaving Triple Eight and Supercars with one year remaining on his contract.
Will Brown is T8’s primary target to replace van Gisbergen, with Brown currently negotiating an early exit from his Erebus deal.
Leave a Reply