Shane van Gisbergen has recognised that Marcos Ambrose’s support following his move to NASCAR has been “influential” ahead of this weekend’s Xfinity Series Spring Race at Darlington Raceway.
The Kiwi will honour this when he runs with a unique yellow and black livery on his #97 Kaulig Racing Camaro in this weekend’s Throwback round, resembling that run by Ambrose in 2012 when he won at Watkins Glen.
“It’s going to be cool running a throwback scheme for Marcos [Ambrose] in Darlington,” he said.
“He has been someone who has been influential and pushing me to come over here and take every opportunity that I’ve got. He has also helped me with learning the tracks every week and what to expect on race weekends.
“To run the livery that he drove to victory back in 2012 at Watkins Glen is really cool. I appreciate Quad Lock coming on board and letting us run this special scheme this weekend in Darlington. It’s going to be a lot of fun!”
Ambrose and van Gisbergen are two of just six drivers not from the United States to win in the NASCAR Cup Series. Daniel Suarez (Mexico), Juan Pablo Montoya (Colombia), Earl Ross (Canada) and Mario Andretti (Italy) are the others.
Ambrose, Montoya, and Suarez each have two victories, with both of the Australians’ successes coming at Watkins Glen.
Van Gisbergen is 15th in the Drivers’ Championship entering the round, 34 points outside the top ten.
The 2024 Crown Royal Purple Bag Project 200 covers 147 laps of the 1.366-mile (2.198km) egg-shaped oval in North Carolina.
Qualifying begins at 9.30 am on Saturday (NZST), with the race going green at 5.30 am on Sunday. ThreeNow will broadcast the race live in New Zealand.
