Yahoo Autos Van Gisbergen to make NASCAR Truck debut at IRP
Shane van Gisbergen will drive the No. 41 Worldwide Express Chevrolet for Niece Motorsports in the NASCAR Truck Series race at Indianapolis Raceway Park on Friday, August 11.
The 200-lap race on IRP’s 0.686-mile track will mark van Gisbergen’s first oval experience and begins a busy weekend for the three-time Australian Supercars champion, who will return to the Cup Series on the IMS road course in Trackhouse Racing’s Project 91 Chevrolet Camaro on Sunday, August 13. The New Zealander goes into the IMS race with a 100% strike rate in NASCAR’s Cup Series after taking a surprise win in his debut at the inaugural Chicago street race in July.
“The weekend will certainly be a challenge,” said van Gisbergen. “I’ve seen the trucks race on television and know it’s very competitive and that I’ll have a lot to learn on a short track at IRP. I’m used to doing doubleheaders in Supercars, but this will be a little bit different. I’m honored to join Niece Motorsports and thrilled at getting a chance to climb in a truck.”
Niece’s Carson Hocevar became the first truck series driver to win three races this season when he won the Worldwide Express 250 at Richmond Raceway on July 29. It marked the seventh win for Niece Motorsports.
“We are so excited and so honored to have Shane drive for us at IRP,” said Niece Motorsports general manager Cody Efaw. “He’s a legend in Australia and New Zealand, but what he did at Chicago has everyone in America talking about his talent. We will help him experience oval racing and I am guessing we will learn a lot from him as well.”
Van Gisbergen’s win in Chicago will be remembered as one of the highlights of the 2023 NASCAR season. Following a pit stop under caution, which came after NASCAR shortened the race from 100 to 75 laps due to looming darkness, van Gisbergen restarted 18th in his No. 91 Chevrolet. He drove to the front and made an overtime pass on a damp track to seal the victory.
He became one of six foreign-born drivers to win a Cup Series race, and the first driver since Johnny Rutherford in 1963 to win his first Cup Series start. It was just the latest entry in a resume that includes Supercars Championships for Triple Eight Race Engineering in 2016, 2021 and 2022, plus 79 wins and 48 pole positions, making him the fourth most successful driver in series history. He also won the Bathurst 1000 in 2020 and 2022.
Van Gisbergen will practice and qualify Friday afternoon at IRP with FS1 televising the truck race at 9pm ET. He will practice and qualify at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Saturday and NBC will televise Sunday’s race on the road course at 2:30pm ET.
