Yahoo Autos Kaulig Racing to field van Gisbergen’s Cup Series effort
Shane van Gisbergen’s slate of seven NASCAR Cup Series races will be with Kaulig Racing in the No. 16 Chevrolet.
“When I first started talking with Trackhouse about moving to the U.S., we had no idea how many races we could secure but I knew I wanted to be with that team and organization,” van Gisbergen said. “There has been a lot of hard work to get to this point and I could not be happier to know that I get to race for an Xfinity Series championship and then get a proper go at the Cup Series on road courses and ovals. Kaulig is a proven winner in both Xfinity and the Cup Series, and I know with the alliance with Trackhouse, this will be an incredible first year for me in NASCAR.”
It was announced in December that New Zealand’s van Gisbergen, a three-time champion in Australia’s Supercars Championship, will run a limited Cup Series schedule in addition to being full-time in the Xfinity Series with Kaulig Racing. Thursday, Kaulig Racing and Trackhouse Racing, who are working in conjunction to field van Gisbergen in his transition to full-time NASCAR competition, announced he would drive the No. 16. The car is going to be split between multiple drivers this season.
Van Gisbergen’s seven Cup Series races are:
Circuit of the Americas (March 24)
Talladega Superspeedway (April 21)
Charlotte Motor Speedway (May 26)
Chicago street course (July 7)
Watkins Glen (Sept. 15)
Talladega Superspeedway (Oct. 6)
Las Vegas (Oct. 20)
“I’m excited to work with Trackhouse and have Shane join our Cup program this season,” Kaulig Racing president Chris Rice said. “When we locked in SVG for the Xfinity Series, it just became a natural next step on the Cup side since we have all the existing infrastructure and a relationship with the pit crews.
“Remember, SVG had to pass our car to win the Chicago race. We finished second. So, now we get to race with him which is kind of awesome.”
Van Gisbergen’s victory at Chicago came in his Cup Series debut for Trackhouse Racing. He then made the decision to leave Australia and the series to move to the United States for a NASCAR career.
“Shane is one of the best talents I’ve ever seen,” Trackhouse Racing founder Justin Marks said. “We know he will be competitive on the road courses, so we needed to challenge him and ourselves on oval tracks against Cup Series drivers. This is a big freshman season for Shane, and I really appreciate Matt Kaulig and Chris Rice for helping us bring this to life.”
