The Kiwi has clearly expressed his intentions to permanently move to the United States next year, even though he still has one year remaining on his Supercars contract with Triple Eight.
He clearly stated in the declaration that he wished to witness T8 finding a suitable replacement before he left.
At that time, there were already widespread rumors suggesting that Will Brown was the top choice for a replacement, provided he could be released from his Erebus contract, which is valid until the conclusion of 2024.
Brown has since been granted informal permission to negotiate with Triple Eight from Erebus owner Betty Klimenko.
Motorsport.com posed the question of a replacement to van Gisbergen ahead of his second NASCAR Cup Series start in Indianapolis this weekend.
Van Gisbergen’s response was that he had been privy to T8’s shortlist for replacements – and is comfortable with what he’s seen.
He mentioned that individuals have been calling him, inquiring about the team’s characteristics.
“I am aware that there is a small group of individuals, approximately three or four men. I would feel at ease if any of them were to take my place.”
“Hopefully, one of them comes up sooner or rather than later and we can work on with it.
“I continue to thoroughly enjoy being a member of that team. In the previous competition, we performed well and are currently putting in significant effort to secure the championship for this year.”
Van Gisbergen has already won three Supercars championships. He achieved his first victory in 2016 and then went on to showcase his dominance in 2021 and 2022.
The integration into the Gen3 era has proven tougher than expected, van Gisbergen currently third in the standings behind Erebus pair Brodie Kostecki and Brown.
Van Gisbergen has been making progress lately and is currently only 54 points behind Kostecki as they head to next week’s SuperSprint at The Bend. During this event, a total of 315 points will be up for grabs, including points for race wins and fastest laps.
As for his latest US outing, van Gisbergen will line up for Niece Motorsports at the Indianapolis Raceway Park in the Truck Series, before joining Trackhouse Racing on the Indianapolis road course.
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