Leading Supercars drivers set for Indianapolis road course Cup race
Two of the leading contenders in the 2023 Repco Supercars Championship will return to North America next month, when Brodie Kostecki will be joined by Shane van Gisbergen in the NASCAR Cup Series event at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on August 13.
While van Gisbergen will line up once again aboard Trackhouse Racing’s Project 91 entry, a combination which proved successful on debut earlier this month on the streets of Chicago, Kostecki will be an additional entry at Richard Childress Racing (RCR) alongside regular drivers Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon.
The drive has been some time in the making, with Kostecki recently completing a fact-finding mission to the USA, where he linked with RCR, while it has also been noted that the West Australian mentored Cup series regular Corey LaJoie prior to the Chicago event.
The RCR outfit enjoys a similar level of Chevrolet factory support to the Trackhouse squad, with the team successful in 2022 at Indianapolis with former driver Tyler Reddick.
Coming back to @NASCAR at Indy with @THProject91 next month! ???? pic.twitter.com/hwe9SXmwUi
— Shane van Gisbergen (@shanevg97) July 19, 2023
For Kostecki, who currently sits second in the Supercars standings behind Coca-Cola Racing teammate Will Brown, the opportunity to race stock cars is a homecoming of sorts, after the 25-year-old previously campaigned in the lower levels of the sport during his formative years.
“Racing is at the core of everything I do, and NASCAR has been a lifelong goal of mine after spending years growing up in the sport’s heartland in North Carolina,” said Kostecki.
“I am thrilled to be making my NASCAR Cup Series debut at the Brickyard, it’s an honour to compete at such an iconic venue and against some of the biggest names in motorsports.
“I’m incredibly grateful to RCR for giving me this opportunity, and I’m determined to make the most of it.”
Meanwhile, for van Gisbergen, the event is the next stepping-stone to a full-time North American drive in 2024.
“Just getting to race in NASCAR is an opportunity I never thought I would get, but then to win and get another chance this year is beyond anything I imagined,” said van Gisbergen.
“I can’t thank [Trackhouse owner] Justin Marks, everyone at Trackhouse Racing and NASCAR [enough] for this opportunity.
“Everyone in NASCAR welcomed me to Chicago, and it’s been awesome to see how big the reception from that race has been around the world. I am honoured to be part of it.”
The makeup of the three-time Supercars champion’s future North American tilt is one of the major topics to play out in the coming months.
By virtue of his Chicago victory, van Gisbergen is locked into the 2024 NASCAR All-Star Race, set to be contested at the historic North Wilkesboro Speedway.
While leaping into a full-time Cup Series ride may be appealing, the prospect of a season in the lower-level Xfinity Series may provide long-term value, with ovals remaining the bread and butter of the NASCAR calendar.
Whether NASCAR would be willing to provide van Gisbergen dispensation to jump straight into Cup remains to be seen. For instance, when former Supercars champion Marcos Ambrose moved to North America in 2006, he was not allowed to race at the opening trio of high-speed oval events in the Truck series due to his lack of previous experience.
However, pathways may exist via NASCAR’s entry-level ARCA Series, which runs its season-opening race at Daytona ahead of the Daytona 500.
For Indianapolis, Kostecki and van Gisbergen will be joined on the grid by ex-F1 pilots Jenson Button and Kamui Kobayashi.
The Supercars championship continues next weekend with the Beaurepaires Sydney SuperNight at Sydney Motorsport Park.
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Keyword: SvG and Kostecki take on NASCAR