VAN GISBERGEN CONSIDERS NZ SPRINTCAR RACING RETURN

Feature photo…Van Gisbergen in action in a Sprintcar over the 2022/23 Speedway season. Image: James Selwyn.

By Matthew Thompson – Velocity News.co.nz

Shane van Gisbergen is eyeing a return to Sprintcar racing over the New Zealand summer once his commitments in the United States have finished for the season.

The three-time Supercars Champion featured in a Sprintcar over the 2022/23 Speedway season and took his first win in the grade in January 2023 in Palmerston North.

In a fan Q&A session on renowned motorsport journalist Greg Rust’s ‘Rusty’s Garage’ Podcast, the two-time Xfinity Series race winner admitted he may also drive a Midget in January’s famed Chili Bowl.

The Chili Bowl, held annually in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is considered the “Super Bowl of Midget Racing” and regularly features a strong contingent of NASCAR drivers. Past winners include Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell and Tony Stewart.

“Justin actually messaged me [about it] last week,” van Gisbergen told Rust, referring to Trackhouse Racing owner Justin Marks.

“I think I’m going to get suited up in a Midget here and see if I fit and get comfortable because he wanted me to do the Chili Bowl this year.

“My other boss, Ty Norris, who is the president of Trackhouse, said he’s seen the flip count every year at the Chili Bowl, and he hates it, so I might have to argue with them both.

“But I plan to race Speedway in New Zealand. I want to come back at the end of the year and hopefully race some Sprintcars again, but pretty early in January is the Chili Bowl, so maybe there is a possibility I’d do that. I’d love to do it, but it’s not easy.

“I enjoyed the Sprintcar stuff. The quick-fire races, quick night, pack up and leave and go on to the next one in a couple of days. Hopefully, we can do that again.”

Van Gisbergen also raced in a Midget in 2020 but had his season cut short on orders from his Supercars team, Triple Eight Race Engineering.