Shane van Gisbergen, a Reject for NASCAR’s Garage 56 Program: “Maybe Now They Will Take Shane Seriously”

Shane van Gisbergen winning in his first-ever NASCAR Cup race in the first ever Cup race on a street course will certainly go down as one of the biggest stories in the modern history of the sport. His win has not only proven just how extraordinarily talented he is as a racecar driver, but it also ended up amplifying NASCAR’s target of reaching a newer audience from a city like Chicago to two different nations in Australia and New Zealand.

In fact, it’s worth mentioning that, as of late, NASCAR has been making big strides in the world of global motorsports, and sports in general. Apart from the recent Chicago race, there was also the hugely successful Garage 56 program in Le Mans.

However, these two hugely successful events for NASCAR could’ve been connected with a common link after all. And that common link could’ve been SVG himself.

Shane van Gisbergen has proven his doubters wrong

After Gisbergen’s historic win in Chicago, Roland Dane, the hugely successful team owner in Supercars Championship revealed in an article in Speed Cafe how he pitched the Kiwi’s name for the Garage 56 program. Dane also remarked that perhaps now those who decided to overlook SVG will reconsider their opinion of him.

“As the chequered flag fell, I was reminded that early last year I put SVG forward to GM to drive the Garage 56 Camaro at Le Mans this year. GM in the US decided to go elsewhere,” Dane wrote.

“Maybe now they will take Shane seriously as the world-class driver that he is – there is simply no better and more versatile driver on GM’s books anywhere in the world today.”

Dane went on to describe his bafflement with how much several NASCAR drivers underestimated someone with the talent and background of Gisbergen. “I’m nothing short of amazed that some of the regular NASCAR drivers appeared not have seen him coming,” he wrote.

“The post-race comments were often amusing, but surely these guys and teams would have done their homework? Or do they really exist in an American bubble to the extent that they didn’t spot the train heading down the tunnel?”

Gisbergen could be on his way to a full-time NASCAR ride

There was one question and idea which was always going to be on everyone’s mind as soon as van Gisbergen took the checkered flag in Chicago, and that was when will he be racing next in NASCAR? Or could he potentially be racing full-time in the US’ premier stock car racing series?

Gisbergen addressed some of those ideas and questions, albeit without any direct answer or a concrete path. “I’m committed next year to Supercars,” he said after the race in Chicago as per RACER. “I still love Supercars and hope it goes well there. But in ’25, who knows?”

The Kiwi added that he’ll do one more year in Australia, and after that, he would love to come to the United States of America.