Kaulig Racing will be SVG's in both his Xfinity and Cup starts this year as the three-time Supercars champ aims to quickly advance through the world of stock car racing. He is under contract at Trackhouse Racing, which has formed an alliance with Kaulig.
SVG won in his Cup debut in spectacular fashion last year, taking victory at the Chicago Street Course for Trackhouse. It was already announced that he would run the full NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule with Kaulig, as well as seven Cup races, but the team for those Cup starts was not specified.
On Thursday, Kaulig confirmed that those starts will come in the team's No. 16 car, which will also feature A.J. Allmendinger and Josh Williams throughout the 2024 season.
As previously announced, the New Zealander will compete at COTA, the Coke 600, Chicago, Watkins Glen, the Las Vegas playoff race and both Talladega races.
“When I first started talking with Trackhouse about moving to the U.S., we had no idea how many races we could secure but I knew I wanted to be with that team and organization,” said van Gisbergen in a release from the team.
“There has been a lot of hard work to get to this point and I could not be happier to know that I get to race for an Xfinity Series championship and then get a proper go at the Cup Series on road courses and ovals. Kaulig is a proven winner in both the Xfinity and the Cup Series, and I know with the alliance with Trackhouse, this will be an incredible first year for me in NASCAR.”
Kaulig Racing has two Cup victories, both courtesy of Allmendinger, and both coming at road courses [Indianapolis RC - 2021 and Charlotte Roval - 2023].
"I’m excited to work with Trackhouse and have Shane join our Cup program this season,” said Chris Rice, President of Kaulig Racing. “When we locked in SVG for the Xfinity Series, it just became a natural next step on the Cup side since we have all the existing infrastructure and a relationship with the pit crews. Remember, SVG had to pass our car to win the Chicago race. We finished second. So, now we get to race with him which is kind of awesome.”
Added Trackhouse founder Justin Marks: “Shane is one of the best talents I’ve ever seen. We know he will be competitive on the road courses, so we needed to challenge him and ourselves on oval tracks against Cup Series drivers. This is a big freshman season for Shane, and I really appreciate Matt Kaulig and Chris Rice for helping us bring this to life.”
The ties between Trackhouse and Kaulig go beyond SVG. For example, a recent crew chief change atop the pit box for Daniel Suarez saw them swap personnel with Kaulig. Travis Mack went from Suarez's crew chief to Kaulig as the technical director of its Cup operations and the crew chief for the No. 16 Chevrolet Camaro. Matt Swiderski, who was the competition director at Kaulig and the crew chief for the No. 16, essentially swapped places with Mack and will now serve as Suarez's crew chief at Trackhouse.
