It’s little secret Shane van Gisbergen has an interest in a NASCAR cameo. However, recent reports suggest that drive may not come this time soon.
Speaking to publishers motorsport.com, van Gisbergen admitted the potential drive with Trackhouse Racing might be some time off.
“I’d love to do that; they’ve set the bar pretty high with Kimi Raikkonen,” the Kiwi told motorsport.com.
“I’ve tried to get in touch with Paul Morris to try and get into his contacts to give me an introduction. I’d love to do it.”
Trackhouse Racing is the same outfit that runs the Project 91 NASCAR system, offering cameo appearances to renowned drivers from across the world. Most recently, Raikkonen made two starts for them at each of The Glen and Circuit of the Americas.
For such a drive to be possible, it would need to take place on a street or road course on a weekend that doesn’t clash with Supercars’ schedule. The Sonoma road course and Chicago street track remain a possibility due to this fact.
Speculation regarding the three-time champion’s future has been of particular interest of late with his Red Bull Ampol Racing contract concluding at year-end.
Rumours of a potential series switch have since been squashed, with the two-time Bathurst 1000 winner signing a multi-year contract extension with the outfit just last week.
Despite this, he told his interviewers that he’ll be able to continue participating in other series should he desire.
“There’s always the appeal [of something new]; the grass is greener and fresh challenges, sometimes,” he said. “But I do really enjoy where I’m at here, with the challenge of the new car and how good I have it here with the people around me.
“But the great thing about Triple Eight, and what I’ve got better a since I joined the team, is that I’m allowed to go challenge myself, whether its rally or speedway.
“I don’t want to lose that. I love being in a top-level, professional sport. But getting to try other things is cool.
“I have enjoyed rallying. Unfortunately, the WRC isn’t coming to Australia or New Zealand this year, but I’m doing as much in New Zealand as I can and will try and do more in Australia.
“I feel like I’ve done as much GT stuff as I wanted to do, in Europe and Oz, so I want to try and do some more off-road stuff.
“I like speedway, it was good being at the back and learning new skills and moving forward. And I’ve still got a lot to learn in speedway, that’s tough. I’d love to keep getting better at that.”
Van Gisbergen will next be in action this weekend at the Perth SuperSprint.
Quotes: motorsport.com
