Motorsport: Road to Nascar open for Shane van Gisbergen as Red Bull Ampol Racing allow early exit from Supercars contract

Shane van Gisbergen will not be racing in Supercars in 2024, with Red Bull Ampol Racing agreeing to release the Kiwi from his contract early to allow him to pursue opportunities overseas.

The three-time Supercars champion was contracted for another season, however, team boss Jamie Whincup confirmed van Gisbergen would be replaced by Will Brown for the 2024 season.

The move opens the door for van Gisbergen to explore opportunities abroad, an expected move after he became the first Nascar driver to win on debut in 60 years at the Chicago street circuit in July.

Van Gisbergen has been open about his desire to join Nascar on a full-time basis, and the move opens the door for that to become a reality.

“The team has agreed to allow Shane van Gisbergen to explore his dreams to race in overseas categories in 2024 and beyond,” a statement from the team said.

“In the meantime, the team’s full focus is on our 2023 Championship assault.”

Van Gisbergen sits third on the Supercars ladder, 13 points behind Brown and 54 points behind Brodie Kostecki with five events left on the calendar.

While he will be looking to go out with his third-straight championship title, van Gisbergen is yet to confirm where his next seat will be at this stage.

However, Trackhouse Racing team owner Justin Marks has revealed the wheels are in motion for making a deal between them happen.

“We’re working hard right now on putting a deal together for him. It’s my plan that he will race at Trackhouse next year alongside some of our partners and Chevrolet family,” Marks told local media after Monday’s event at the Indianapolis Road Course.

“He wants to do this. He’s done everything he wants to do in Australia, and he’s really excited, and he’s really, really good. His rate of adaptation is such that we really believe that this is a guy that can be a star in this sport.

“We’re working on a transition next year for him, get him a lot of experience, a lot of track time in different divisions, and really be intelligent and methodical about how we build that programme, and then we’ll see what the future holds.”

Trackhouse Racing ran van Gisbergen’s Project 91 entry in Chicago and again in Indianapolis where the Kiwi finished 10th.