The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season gets underway this weekend with the sport’s biggest event, the DAYTONA 500, as Shane van Gisbergen begins his second full-time campaign at NASCAR’s top level.
The Kiwi enters his sophomore season following an impressive rookie year in 2025, where he claimed five victories and finished 12th in the final championship standings. Van Gisbergen also secured Rookie of the Year honours, quickly establishing himself as a consistent front-runner in the Cup Series.
After showing steady improvement across all track types last season, van Gisbergen has already carried that form into the opening event of 2026. At Bowman Gray Stadium, he started 17th and spent the opening 100 laps managing track position before switching to wet-weather tyres in the second half of the race. The move allowed him to climb into the top 10 by lap 113 and take the lead on lap 140. He led 15 laps before being spun while battling for second place, eventually finishing 20th.
Van Gisbergen will carry the No. 97 for his second Cup Series season, a number with strong personal significance. His father, Robert van Gisbergen, raced with the number, while Shane built much of his Supercars career under No. 97, recording 80 race wins, three championships, 48 pole positions and 152 podium finishes. The number also appeared during his 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series rookie campaign, during which he claimed three wins and three poles.
For the DAYTONA 500, van Gisbergen will pilot the No. 97 SuperFile Chevrolet. SuperFile is a digital security platform specialising in sovereign file control, enabling persistent protection, authentication and tracking of sensitive data even after files have been shared.
Continuity remains a key strength for the No. 97 entry, with Stephen Doran returning as crew chief for a second season. The pair claimed their first NASCAR Cup Series victory together in 2025 at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City, where van Gisbergen led 60 of the 100-lap race and won by over 16 seconds. The result marked Doran’s first Cup Series win as a crew chief.
Daytona presents a unique challenge to open the season, with the 2.5-mile superspeedway producing tight pack racing and heavy reliance on drafting. With the entire field often separated by only tenths of a second, track position and manufacturer alliances play a critical role, while the constant risk of multi-car incidents can undo even the strongest runs. For van Gisbergen, survival, timing and staying in the lead draft will be key factors in converting speed into a result in NASCAR’s biggest race.
Reflecting on his first DAYTONA 500 appearance in 2025, van Gisbergen said the scale of the event left a strong impression.
“I enjoyed it last year. The race buildup is epic, like how much everyone is into it, seeing the stands full, it’s an amazing racetrack. The race didn’t go very well for us last year; we got crashed early and limped around the rest of the race. Hopefully, we can have a bit of a better result this year.”
Despite having competed in major endurance and touring car events around the world, van Gisbergen says Daytona still stands apart.
“You get that vibe and buzz on the pre-race grid; all the drivers and teams are nervous, but then the crowd is super excited. It’s a real mix of energy… There is nothing like it.”
Looking ahead to the 2026 season, van Gisbergen believes last year’s experience provides a solid foundation.
“I felt like we ended last year really strongly. We had a really good upward trajectory on the ovals, and our road courses were really strong. We just have to keep that momentum going.”
With a full season of Cup Series experience behind him, a settled team around him and renewed focus heading into year two, van Gisbergen begins the 2026 championship aiming to build on his breakthrough rookie campaign, starting with NASCAR’s most prestigious race at Daytona.
Header Image: Trackhouse Racing
