Reigning Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen is expecting a significant challenge in his return to the NASCAR Cup Series this weekend, where the 34-year old Kiwi will race on the permanent road course inside the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Van Gisbergen sensationally won in his NASCAR debut last month on the streets of Chicago, becoming the first driver to do so at the top level in 60 years.
He is also coming off a win in his most recent Repco Supercars Championship race, after taking victory in Race 19 of the season two weeks ago at the Beaurepaires Sydney SuperNight.
The three-time Supercars champion and two-time Repco Bathurst 1000 winner has added his oval racing debut to his menu this week. Van Gisbergen will race in the NASCAR Truck Series – a feeder series to NASCAR – on the oval at nearby Indianapolis Raceway Park (different venue) on Friday night in the United States, late Saturday morning Australian time.
When he suits up for Sunday’s (Monday morning AEST) NASCAR Cup Series race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, van Gisbergen will not be the only Supercars star on the grid.
Current Supercars championship leader and Coca-Cola Racing driver Brodie Kostecki will line up for the famous Richard Childress (pronounced “chill-dress”) Racing squad, making his own NASCAR Cup debut.
Perth native Kostecki briefly raced in the lower divisions of NASCAR as a teenager before taking up Supercars, however this will be his first start at the top of American stock car racing.
Other international stars entered in the NASCAR event include Japanese superstar Kamui Kobayashi, a previous winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and Daytona 24 Hour races, British 2009 Formula One world champion Jenson Button, and German DTM champion Mick Rockenfeller.
Following the weekend in Indianapolis, Kostecki and van Gisbergen will journey back to Australia for the OTR SuperSprint, taking place August 18-20 at The Bend Motorsport Park outside Adelaide.
The South Australian event is the eighth round on the 2023 Repco Supercars Championship calendar, and hosts Races 20, 21, and 22 of the current championship, which will be the first races in South Australia for the new-for-2023 Gen3 Supercars.
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