It has been a busy year for Justin Marks and Trackhouse Racing. Earlier this year they have signed a development deal with Xfinity Series driver Connor Zilisch and recently have announced that driver Daniel Suarez would not be returning next season after his contract ends at the end of the season.
Earlier this week, Trackhouse Racing has signed a contract extension with New Zealand born driver Shane van Gisbergen. The three time Australian SuperCars champion has won three of the road course races this year and has earned himself a spot in the 16 driver playoff grid.
Van Gisbergen, who kicks an autographed rugby ball into the stands when he wins a race, is in his first full time year in the Cup Series after spending the 2024 season as a full time driver in the Xfinity Series.
Trackhouse announced the extension by saying he would be here for years to come with no further details.
SVG as he is known in NASCAR – the name was earned when he came to the sport and people could not pronounce his name – has earned the pole for the road course races at Mexico City and Sonoma and the street race in Chicago and went on to win all three races.
He narrowly missed a fourth pole when Ryan Blaney edged him out for the pole at Watkins Glen this weekend.
Noting that he is having a lot of fun, van Gisbergen issued a press release saying, “I feel like Trackhouse Racing is my home.”
Shane van Gisbergen joined the field in the inaugural Chicago Street Race in 2023 as a part of the Project 91 program that brings championship drivers from other racing formats to experience a NASCAR race. Van Gisbergen won the race in a rain shortened event and immediately made the decision that he had found a new love; stating he wanted to join NASCAR. Less than six months later, SVG was a member an American NASCAR team.
Speaking on the driver of the number 88 car, Trackhouse owner Justin Marks said, “we are getting to watch one of the superstars of racing. What we are asking him to do carries a high degree of difficulty. He’s moved to the other side of the world, learned a new form of racing and at times dominated the competition. He’s one of the greatest.”