Shane van Gisbergen has enjoyed plenty of success in the world of motorsport, but he is far from ready to pump the brakes on his illustrious career.
The New Zealand driver has set his sights on winning the Daytona 24 Hour endurance race scheduled to be staged in January 2025.
The three-time Supercars champion is hoping to capitalise on a unique opportunity involving his partner Jessica Dane to book a spot in the iconic event.
His seamless transition from Supercars to NASCAR has been a game-changer for his illustrious career, and his story only gets more compelling with every turn.
Van Gisbergen Dreaming of Daytona Success
The Kiwi first revealed his interest in competing at Daytona on the Apex Hunters United podcast, where he admitted he has been hounding his partner for a spot in the prestigious event.
The experienced racer has a deep connection with Daytona. He first competed in the event in 2014 with Alex Job Racing in a Porsche 911GT3 Cup car.
He became a regular fixture at the event until 2017, when he took a short break, but he returned in 2020 with Vasser Sullivan behind the wheel of a Lexus RC F GT3.
His partner Dane is set to ditch her role at GM Motorsports to join Corvette Racing as their programme manager, where she'll oversee global GT3 operations with the Corvette Z06.
Her new role comes as a massive boost for Van Gisbergen’s hopes of landing a spot at Daytona, making his long-term ambitions more feasible than ever.
The race is now only an hour away from his base in the United States - a far cry from the arduous 28-hour journey he had to face when moving from New Zealand to Florida.
If Van Gisbergen participates at Daytona, sports bettors in his homeland will be clamouring to wager on him given his previous successes in motorsports.
Most New Zealand betting sites offer comprehensive coverage of motorsports events and the Kiwi star’s involvement at Daytona would spike massive interest among punters.
Van Gisbergen is a symbol of national pride in New Zealand and his proven track record makes him an enticing proposition for sports bettors.
Xfinity Car was an Eye-Opener for Van Gisbergen
While Van Gisbergen still has one eye on a dream spot at Daytona 2025, he is still coming to terms with a transformative year in NASCAR.
Shifting from his familiar Cup car to the Xfinity Series has been quite the experience for the Kiwi driver, who likened his Chevrolet Camaro to a forklift truck.
He raised plenty of eyebrows when he won his debut race in the NASCAR Cup Series in July, making a smooth transition into the Next-Gen car. The Xfinity car was a different ball-game.
"I like the Cup car because it feels like every other car in the world I've driven," he said. "Then I got in the Xfinity car and had no idea what was happening.
"It drives like a forklift, the way the rear end moves, how it drives but if you speak to drivers here, they like it better.
“The rear end is really, really interesting, how it moves around. I've never driven a car like that."
Van Gisbergen Could Face a Familiar Rival in 2025
Van Gisbergen could face a familiar rival in the United States next season, with 2024 Supercars champion Will Brown set to tackle some NASCAR races.
Both drivers are familiar with each other from racing in Australia. But it may not be long until they renew hostilities, with Brown seriously considering a move to NASCAR.
Brown secured the 2024 Supercars championship title from in a Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, claiming only his ninth win in 124 race starts for Triple Eight Race Engineering.
After an unsatisfactory Cup series debut, Brown has set his sights on returning to NASCAR for the upcoming season, setting the stage for a mouth-watering showdown against SVG.
"Hopefully, two NASCAR races I'd like to do," Brown said. "That's the plan. I'll say one, but hopefully, two if the car is available.
"I guess Chicago's one I want to do, but a lot of the guys over there want to do it, so if a car's available and a team's available, I’ll do it.”
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