Shane van Gisbergen will add another form of American racing to his growing résumé this weekend, with the New Zealander set to make his CARS Tour debut at Florence Motor Speedway.
The Trackhouse Racing driver will step into the #51 Chevrolet Camaro for Hettinger Racing in Friday night’s 125-lap Late Model Stock feature, with Red Bull backing the entry.
Van Gisbergen will be joined on the grid by Trackhouse teammate Connor Zilisch, who returns to the series driving the #8 JR Motorsports entry, also carrying Red Bull colours.
It gives the Kiwi another opportunity to build his experience on the American short tracks as he continues to develop his oval racing craft alongside his full-time NASCAR Cup Series programme.
Zilisch already has plenty of experience in the CARS Tour, making 14 starts across the 2023 and 2024 seasons and claiming a victory at Hickory Motor Speedway.
Van Gisbergen, however, will be entering unfamiliar territory when he lines up among a strong 30-car Late Model Stock field at Florence. CARS Tour co-owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. is particularly interested to see how the three-time Supercars champion adapts to the machinery and style of racing.
“SVG and Connor Zilisch will be behind the wheel of two very competitive cars,” said Earnhardt Jr. on his Dale Jr Download podcast.
“It’s going to be a pretty big field. They’re going to have their hands full just trying to qualify well, let alone the 125 laps on Friday night.
“They’ll both be in Red Bull-sponsored, identical Late Models. I know Connor has races in the CARS Tour before. He’s aware of what he’s got himself into.
“SVG, on the other hand, he’s becoming quite the short track racer at the Cup level. I’m curious what he says once he finishes the weekend, or Friday night, and gets out of the car. I can’t wait to see what he says.”
Earnhardt Jr. will also be competing at Florence, although in the 100-lap Pro Late Model feature, which precedes the Late Model Stock race. The timing works well for Van Gisbergen and Zilisch, with the NASCAR Cup Series competing at nearby Darlington Raceway over the weekend.
For Van Gisbergen, the additional seat time comes immediately after a difficult conclusion to NASCAR’s regular season at Daytona, where he narrowly missed a place in The Chase despite entering the finale 31 points above the cut line.
The Kiwi initially strengthened his position by winning Stage 1, while rival Ryan Preece recovered from being spun while leading to finish eighth in the opening stage. However, the race’s complexion changed dramatically from there.
Preece ultimately went on to claim his maiden Cup Series victory and secure his place in The Chase, while Van Gisbergen finished 27th after being caught in a multi-car crash on the final lap. A late fuel stop also proved costly for the #97 Trackhouse Racing team.
Crew chief Stephen Doran called Van Gisbergen to pit road from inside the top 15 amid concerns the Chevrolet would not have enough fuel to reach the chequered flag. The team also fitted fresh tyres in the hope Van Gisbergen could work his way back through the field, but the strategy did not produce the required result.
Speaking after the weekend, Van Gisbergen said Chevrolet’s fuel mileage situation left the team with little choice but to stop.
“I just think that we’re at a little bit of a disadvantage to the other manufacturers at the moment, fuel mileage-wise, and we just had to pit there,” Van Gisbergen told Motorsport.com.
“We probably would’ve run out of fuel. The guys that were close who made it were not driving Chevys so we probably need to improve there a little bit.
“And I could have managed it a little bit over the stage. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. I could have done a better job. But like I said on Saturday night, one night of the season isn’t why we didn’t make it, because we didn’t accumulate points on the other 20 or whatever weeks, and I don’t just blame that one weekend for our failure, I guess.”
Despite the disappointment of missing The Chase, Van Gisbergen remains positive about the progress he has made during his latest NASCAR campaign.
His season has included eight finishes outside the top 30, with several costly results coming through incidents outside his control, including being taken out of contention at San Diego after appearing capable of fighting for the victory. At the same time, his improvement on ovals has been increasingly evident.
Van Gisbergen has closed the gap to his Trackhouse teammates and shown greater consistency across the variety of circuits that make up the Cup Series calendar, something he considers an important step forward from his earlier NASCAR seasons.
“I don’t really think of wanting validation of anything, but I certainly still enjoy it a lot,” Van Gisbergen said.
“I really love racing up the challenge and winning with everyone every week. I feel like I’m closer to my teammates, which was frustrating last year.
“I got clos-ish to Daniel (Suarez) last year, but Ross was always a level above. So yeah, I feel pretty happy that I’ve gotten a lot closer to them on the ovals, and I still have a lot more to improve. There are things I’m still not very good at, but it’s a challenge that I love.”
That learning process will continue at Florence, where Van Gisbergen will swap his Cup Series Chevrolet for a Late Model Stock car before returning his attention to NASCAR duties at Darlington.
The CARS Tour has developed a reputation as one of America’s most competitive short-track series, giving Van Gisbergen another chance to gain valuable experience in a discipline far removed from the Supercars machinery that built much of his career.
With 30 cars entered and only 125 laps to make an impression, the Kiwi is set for another new challenge as his American racing education continues.
The Late Model Stock feature at Florence Motor Speedway gets underway at 12:00pm NZST on Saturday.
Header Image: Hettinger Racing
