Shane van Gisbergen secures full-time NASCAR Cup ride with Trackhouse for 2025

After his stunning debut win at the 2023 Chicago Grand Prix, Australian Supercars’ Shane van Gisbergen made the move to America compete full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and to contest a handful of Cup Series events.

But for 2025, he’s moving up: Shane van Gisbergen will compete full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series with Trackhouse Racing behind the wheel of the No. 88 car — the return of the No. 88 after five years in hibernation.

Shane van Gisbergen joins Trackhouse for 2025

Trackhouse Racing first fielded Shane van Gisbergen on a one-off basis for the inaugural Chicago street race in 2023 — a move that paid off well. The former Supercars racer took victory in his debut NASCAR Cup Series race and made his very first step to going full-time in American stock car racing.

Van Gisbergen didn’t dive right into Cup, though; rather, he opted to spend a frankly impressive year in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, honing his skills and learning a full slate of brand-new tracks.

Now, he’s bringing it back full-circle; Van Gisbergen will rejoin Trackhouse for the entire 2025 season with the No. 88 car.

The No. 88 has a rich history in NASCAR — a series where cars have numbers, not drivers. One of the most iconic drivers of the No. 88 was Dale Earnhardt Jr., the son of the inimitable Dale Earnhardt Sr., but it has also donned the cars of legends like Darrell Waltrip, Dale Jarrett, Donnie Allison, Ricky Rudd, Rusty Wallace, Buddy Baker, and so many more.

Van Gisbergen’s signing also coincides with the expansion of the Trackhouse Racing team. The operation has acquired a third charter, which means it will be able to guarantee drives for its current racers Daniel Suarez and Ross Chastain while also adding van Gisbergen to the bunch.

“This is a big day in so many ways for Trackhouse Racing, Shane, Chevrolet and race fans around the world,” said Trackhouse Racing founder and owner Justin Marks in a press statement.

“This is an important step for our organization and it’s a credit to the men and women at Trackhouse Racing whose hard work and success the last few years has led to us expanding to three Cup teams in 2025.

“It’s also a big step up for Shane who took a chance on Trackhouse Racing, moved here from New Zealand and now joins the most competitive stock car racing series in the world.

“Everyone will get to watch one of the world’s racing superstars compete in the NASCAR Cup Series next year.”

For his own part, van Gisbergen expressed confidence in the move, saying, “This is what I have planned for, and I am ready.

“I know there is a tough learning curve ahead, but the best way to learn is to go out and do it.

“I feel I have made progress running the Xfinity Series this year with Kaulig Racing and I can’t thank everyone there enough. I look forward to the Cup Series. Those drivers and teams are the best in the world and it will be an honor to be part of their races.”

Five more Cup races for Shane van Gisbergen in 2024

Though Shane van Gisbergen won his debut NASCAR Cup Series event, when he moved to America for a full season of stock car racing, he chose to compete full-time in the Xfinity Series — though he intended to pad that schedule with six Cup Series events at Circuit of the Americas, Talladega, Charlotte, Chicago, Watkins Glen, and Las Vegas.

But the Kaulig Racing driver’s performance has already been impressive enough to add five more events to his schedule after this weekend’s Daytona event: Darlington, Atlanta, Talladega, and Martinsville.

“Doing both Cup and Xfinity races with Kaulig Racing is going to keep everyone busy but I didn’t come to America to sit and watch racing,” van Gisbergen said, as reported in RACER.

“I came to race.”

He continued, “I was told when I came to the States that Darlington was the toughest track on the circuit, and I can’t dispute that, but I immediately fell in love with the place.

“It is just so much fun to drive, and I am keen to drive a Cup car there.

“As for Atlanta, we finished third there in only my second Xfinity series start, so that was kind of crazy. I have so much more experience now, and I just love getting to the track each week.”

NASCAR’s Formula 1 ties:

? Why so serious? Four valuable lessons F1 can learn from polarising NASCAR series

? F1 v NASCAR: How US racing is finally discovering the magic of rain

Van Gisbergen has crowned his rookie season in Xfinity racing with three victories (Portland, Sonoma, and Chicago), earning him a spot in the Playoffs. He’s on track to sign for a full-time seat in the Cup Series for 2025, but these additional races in 2024 will absolutely benefit him.

In addition, he’s taken top-10s at Atlanta, Phoenix, and Indianapolis, as well as two pole positions.

Van Gisbergen competes full-time in Xfinity for Kaulig, though his Cup Series starts have come with Trackhouse Racing. He’ll race Kaulig’s second car in these additional Cup starts.

NASCAR has been pushing hard to expand its horizons and become more than “just” an American sport. The Next-Gen Cup car is designed with international GT3 racing regulations in mind, with the intention of encouraging talented drivers from different disciplines to try the sport and to more easily get up to speed.

The 35-year-old van Gisbergen was so impressed that he defected from Supercars to try to build up his NASCAR career. So far, it seems to be working quite well.

Read next: Spongebob Squarepants 400? 30 weird and wonderful NASCAR race names F1 fans may not know about