When Shane van Gisbergen stunned the NASCAR world by winning the 2023 Chicago Street Race in his debut, few could have predicted he would go on to become the winningest foreign-born driver in series history. NASCAR and its fans embraced his move to a full-time schedule. Starting in the Xfinity Series last year and now competing in the Cup Series, he has already cemented his reputation as the man to beat on road courses and has made significant progress on ovals as well. Most importantly, one thing is absolute: he’s in NASCAR to stay.
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In a sport where questions about retirement often surface once a driver hits 40, only Denny Hamlin remains active among his contemporaries past that mark currently. At 36, SVG, however, insists he has plenty of laps left in him. Ahead of Sunday’s fifth road course race of the season at Watkins Glen, he addressed how long he plans to stick around.
He said, “I don’t really know. I haven’t thought about it. I definitely have a lot of years left in me. We’re lucky as race car drivers. We have a very long shelf life. You see, guys (are) competitive till their late 40s, so I can go as long as I want. But I do have other things in racing I want to try. I still want to do some European stuff. I want to do Nürburgring 24. That’s on my list to do properly.”
“I want to do a bit more rally car driving. I got into that [in] 2021-22. But definitely for now, I want to stay in NASCAR and concentrate on that, but I don’t have a timeline. Two years ago, I wasn’t meant to be here, so I’m really happy here at the moment and can see myself doing it for a while… There’s no timeline. I’m happy here for now,” the No. 88 driver continued.
His future in NASCAR became even more secure Friday when Trackhouse Racing announced a multi-year contract extension that will keep him in the No. 88 Chevy for several more seasons. In under 40 career starts, SVG has already tied the record for most wins in a rookie Cup season and says the Trackhouse camp feels like home.
Still, the Kiwi driver admits NASCAR’s grueling schedule can be all-consuming. The workload leaves no room to return home, and the homesickness is real. SVG asserted that once his racing chapter closes, he plans to head straight back home.
