A Kiwi in NASCAR! Pop the moonshine and rev the V8, Shane van Gisbergen is driving #88.
Van Gisbergen says he’s surprised by his rapid ascension to a full-time NASCAR Cup drive, but news this week that the Kiwi has secured a spot on the Cup Series won’t have surprised many who have followed his career – nor will it surprise those who have followed the post-racing career of Trackhouse Racing’s Justin Marks.
Marks, who has parlayed his driving career into a burgeoning motorsport and entertainment business, has been blessed with the entrepreneurial spirit since birth. His father, Micheal Marks, is today a private equity partner but has also served as an executive with (love them or hate them) Crocs, and was an interim CEO with Tesla.
Part of the Trackhouse Racing philosophy has been to attract international drivers to NASCAR. In announcing the news that van Gisbergen would be given a full-time drive, Marks said the decision was an easy one. As, one imagines, was the decision to use the number 88 – a number synonymous with one of the legendary names of the sport, Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Marks said he spoke to Earnhardt Jr before the announcement and the response was overwhelmingly positive.
To sign up to Scotty's weekly newsletter go to 1News.co.nz/subscribe
"It's important for us to have the endorsement. I had a great exchange with Jr, saying, 'Look, it's not my number, I guess I added to the legacy of it. It's important to me personally' but he was proud to see it in good hands and that's just something that's super, super important to me and to this company.”
New Zealand fans should not underestimate the scale of this move for van Gisbergen. After his win on debut in Chicago last year – the first driver to achieve the feat in 60 years – it was clear he was not going to fear the challenge ahead. But motorsport is a game of timing and, at times, good luck. It appears van Gisbergen has managed to take advantage of both.
Marks strikes as the perfect team principal for van Gisbergen. Both are incredibly ambitious and not afraid to shake up whatever series they find themselves in. One can still recall the battles van Gisbergen had with the established hierarchy of the Super Cars circuit when he entered that series. Veteran opinion of the Kiwi upstart ranged from derision to outright dismissal. He was the brash kid who was either maniacally brave or criminally reckless.
It didn’t matter to the man himself. By the time he left the series he was the undisputed king of the circuit, a driver who could manufacture victory in a way few others could. He was that good – there were days when his fifth-place finish was more talked about than the winner.
New Zealanders are perhaps insulated from the world of American motorsport. We, as a nation, may sometimes raise an eyebrow if the peerless Scott Dixon wins a race in IndyCar, but NASCAR quite possibly remains a mystery to most of us, outside the serious Tom Cruise portrayal or the less than serious Will Ferrell one. To wit: Days of Thunder, a rather underwhelming portrayal of fast cars and questionable doctor-patient relationships, and Talladega Nights, a subjectively funny portrayal of fast cars and red necks featuring the most underrated comedic actor of his generation, John C. Reilly.
Hollywood aside, NASCAR is a big deal. It’s as ‘Murican as a cheeseburger, as star spangled as a banner, as southeastern as Ole Miss versus the Crimson Tide. NASCAR may not be a New York state of mind but there’s 85 million people in its spiritual home and they treat the races as religious experiences. Last year Daytona, which is to NASCAR what Indianapolis is to IndyCar, sold out. The crowd was estimated to be between 150,000-175,000 with a national television audience of almost 10 million.
In other words, van Gisbergen is in the big leagues – and Kiwis should be excited for what lies ahead. There are no guarantees he will be able to transfer his street skills to the track, but if we have learned anything from following him, he won’t be backing down.
To have another New Zealand driver in the big time is big news. With van Gisbergen now joining Dixon, Armstrong and Mclaughlin in the States, and Liam Lawson reportedly on the cusp of a full-time Formula One seat, we could be entering another golden generation for motorsport in this country – and that's without listing the likes of Brendan Hartley, Mitch Evans, and many others around the globe.
For now, we will celebrate the Giz and, in the immortal words of Cal Naughton Jr, prepare to "shake and bake".
SHARE ME