Shane van Gisbergen is gearing up for his fifth-career NASCAR Cup Series start, and third of 2024, in this weekend’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The three-time Supercars champion will race for a combined 600 laps on the 1.5-mile quad-oval intermediate speedway in North Carolina, with Monday morning’s 400-lap Cup Series race the day following the 200-lap Xfinity Series showdown.
“The Cup car at Charlotte is going to be another massive challenge for me, but I’m looking forward to the opportunity,” he said ahead of the event. “I’m excited to run the 600, one of the crown jewels of NASCAR.
“We have 400 laps to learn and hopefully come home with a straight car and good finish on Sunday night.”
Earlier in the week, Kaulig Racing unveiled a unique black paint scheme for Van Gisbergen’s #97 Xfinity Series Camaro, honouring the US Air Force, in which sponsor Focused Health’s CEO Shawn Holt is a retired Veteran, for the annual Memorial Day Weekend stop.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun being able to race at home here in Charlotte this weekend,” he said.
“I’m starting to get a little more comfortable on mile-and-a-half ovals, and I’m looking forward to trying to figure out Charlotte this weekend.
“We have a pretty cool paint scheme, and I appreciate Focused Health coming on board with us.”
In his last start on a 1.5-mile oval at Texas Motor Speedway, van Gisbergen finished 18th, having started 33rd.
He sits 15th in the Xfinity Series standings, 35 points outside the top 10 after 11 rounds.
The weekend’s track action begins with Xfinity Series practice on Saturday morning, followed by qualifying at 8.05 am NZST. The Xfinity Series race begins at 5:00 am on Sunday and is followed by Cup Series qualifying at 9.50 am.
The Coca-Cola 600 goes green at 10.00 am on Monday.
Three Now will show live coverage of both races.
