The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season brings a host of changes for the drivers to adapt to. One of those changes is Shane van Gisbergen settling into his first full-time year in the sport’s top tier with Trackhouse Racing.
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The New Zealander needs no introduction in the NASCAR fanbase, as the Australian V8 Supercars champion burst onto the stock car racing scene with his inaugural Chicago City Street Race victory, followed by other road course wins in the Xfinity Series and exciting battles during his part-time Cup schedule last year.
Solidifying himself as a ‘road course ringer,’ as some would term him, Gisbergen looks forward to making the next step in his career in the United States this year. However, one thing that surprises him the most is his team owner Justin Marks’s approach to it all.
“He’s such a forward-thinking person, and amazing how in-tune he is with everything, even like MotoGP is on this weekend and how he has that mental capacity to be fully involved in both of it is so impressive,” elaborated SVG during an interview before last weekend’s race at COTA.
“I can’t focus on more than one thing, so it’s pretty cool how in-tune he is and how good of a person he is too,” he added. Trackhouse Racing, while being one of NASCAR’s newer teams among heavyweights such as Joe Gibbs Racing and Hendrick Motorsports, is not solely focused on stock car racing as SVG elaborated.
Along with fielding a third Cup Series entry for the Kiwi this year, team owner Justin Marks also expanded into the world of two-wheeled motorsports by joining the MotoGP grid last year as a satelite team for Apprilia, taking over for the now defunct RNF Racing.
“This is not a NASCAR team going motorcycle racing. This is the Trackhouse Entertainment Group identifying opportunities globally to participate in high-value events and championships. The long-term vision of Trackhouse was never just to build a great Cup team,” Marks elaborated on his move at the time.
The 2025 NASCAR landscape for the team is ever evolving, with award-winning rapper Pitbull stepping down as the co-owner of the team alongside Marks.
Meanwhile, Ross Chastain, Daniel Suarez, and Shane van Gisbergen prepare for the upcoming Cup Series event at Phoenix Raceway as the team looks to challenge deep into the playoffs this season, especially with SVG looking to turn a corner on his oval-racing skills this year.
It remains to be seen how well he can perform during the upcoming 2025 Shriners Children’s 500, which is due to go live on Sunday, March 9, 2025, at 3:30 pm ET.
