Shane van Gisbergen is gearing up for a return to Darlington Raceway for another busy weekend of NASCAR action.
The Kiwi is once again running in the NASCAR Cup Series, where he will carry a green and blue Acceptance Insurance livery on the #16 Camaro, in addition to his full-time Xfinity Series commitments.
The Cook Out Southern 500 is van Gisbergen’s sixth cup series start of the 2024 campaign.
“I’m really looking forward to racing the Cup car at Darlington,” he said.
“It’s another oval that is a massive challenge for me, but I had a lot of fun racing the Xfinity car there in the spring. Darlington has quickly become one of my favourite tracks to race. Excited to have Acceptance Insurance on board my 16 Kaulig Racing Chevy this weekend. It’s going to be fun!”
The three-time Supercars champion last competed at the 2.198-km egg-shaped oval in May, where his first-ever track time came in the race after practice and qualifying were cancelled due to a passing weather system.
Despite this, he stayed out of trouble and crossed the line in 15th.
“Darlington is one of my favourite tracks I’ve raced so far in my NASCAR career,” he reiterated while previewing his Xfinity Series race. “It’s a challenging track, but one I’m hoping to someday accomplish.
“Excited to have WeatherTech back on board this weekend. Hoping for another fun Saturday with my 97 Kaulig Racing team!”
In 18 oval starts in 2024, van Gisbergen has finished in the top 20 13 times. His best oval result came in Round 2 at Atlanta, where he finished third.
Season highlights also include a fourth-placed finish at IMS and a sixth-placed result at Phoenix Raceway.
Van Gisbergen leads the Xfinity Series in total wins, with all three coming on road courses. He is 12th overall in the driver’s standings entering this weekend’s round, the fourth-to-last regular season event before playoffs begin on September 28.
Van Gisbergen will run the familiar white and red Weather Tech livery on the #97 Camaro this weekend.
Xfinity Series qualifying begins at 3.10 am NZST on Sunday, followed by Cup Series qualifying at 5.20 am.
The Xfinity Series race goes green at 7.30 am that morning, ahead of the Cup Series outing at 10.00 am on Monday.
Both races will be shown live on Three Now.
Header Image: Kaulig Racing
