Shane van Gisbergen’s mooted transition to NASCAR could have moved a step closer with the news that the favorite to take his seat in Australia’s Supercars Championship has been granted an early release from his contract.
Will Brown, who currently races for Erebus Motorsport, is seen as the front-runner for van Gisbergen’s place at the powerhouse Triple Eight Race Engineering team — something van Gisbergen (pictured at left, above, with Brown) himself acknowledged on Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s “Dale Jr. Download” podcast this week.
“I don’t think that’s official, that’s just gossip. They’re saying Will Brown,” he said. “He’s very good — he’s second in the championship. There’s three or four guys on the shortlist and I know he’s one of them, but they don’t have anyone official yet, that I know of.
“That gives me a bit of hope that there’s someone good going to be there and I feel better about leaving.”
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After van Gisbergen’s comments, Erebus confirmed on Friday that Brown would be granted an early release from his contract, which was set to run until the end of 2024.
“The decision comes as Brown looks to explore new opportunities, resulting in an amicable agreement and early release from his contract,” said a statement issued by the team.
However, Triple Eight responded with a statement of its own, insisting no deal had been done and that van Gisbergen remained “a contracted driver with Triple Eight until advised otherwise.”
“If this changes, it will be communicated by the team,” the statement added. “We will be making no further comment.”
Nevertheless, van Gisbergen’s move to NASCAR in 2024 seems like a certainty at this point. Triple Eight team principal Jamie Whincup has already publicly backed his lead driver to move stateside, while in the same interview with Earnhardt Jr., van Gisbergen suggested his mind was already made up, and that a chat with fellow Supercars convert Marcos Ambrose — who spent nine seasons in NASCAR’s three touring divisions, winning twice in Cup and five times in the Xfinity Series — played a part.
“I had some good chats with Marcus about it and he was in a similar position where he’d just won his two championships and then, you know, the sport was a bit different and he was looking for something else. He said I just had to come over here and he just loved it.”
The New Zealander also hinted he was angling for a move with Trackhouse, with whom he won the inaugural Chicago street race and will be competing on the Indianapolis road course race this weekend.
“Coming here just opened my eyes. I watched (NASCAR), obviously, but had never been to a race and going to Nashville, it was like it’s a whole new world. It was epic.”
He suggested seat time in NASCAR’s other touring divisions might be a better option than a move straight into the Cup Series full time, however.
“I don’t think I could jump straight into the Cup stuff,” van Gisbergen admitted. “You need a lot of time to come here, adjust to the lifestyle, see how it all works. I’m used to driving 12 to 18 weekends a year, not 36. It would be a big adjustment and then learning all the oval stuff, how it all works and the routine. So I need a lot of learning time.
“Trying to work through it with Justin (Marks, Trachouse owner), that’s who I’d love to be with. The Trackhouse team is awesome. I really enjoyed my time with them and listening to how Justin speaks and what his plans are, it’s pretty motivating and something I want to be a part of, so I think that is the perfect scenario.”
Ahead of his return to the Cup Series on Sunday, van Gisbergen will make his Craftsman Truck Series debut — his first start on an oval — on Friday at Indianapolis Raceway Park with Niece Motorsports.