Renowned ‘driver whisperer’ Paul Morris opened the door for Shane van Gisbergen’s NASCAR debut in Chicago this weekend.
Ahead of his preparations for the NASCAR Cup Series’ first street race, van Gisbergen revealed that Morris instigated the talks that secured his invitation to drive Trackhouse Racing’s Project 91 entry.
The #91 Chevrolet Camaro is dedicated to running international circuit racing stars in selected NCS road course events.
SVG is the second Project 91 invitee, following two road circuit appearances by 2007 F1 world champion Kimi Raikkonen.
He got his opportunity thanks to Morris contacting American road racer Boris Said, who in turn recommended the triple Supercars champion to Trackhouse team owner Justin Marks.
Said was a regular NASCAR road course stand-in and a long-time friend of Morris, a former Bathurst 1000 co-winner who has become a leading driver coach and talent-spotter.
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‘The Dude’ is close to van Gisbergen – a regular at his Norwell Motorplex driver training centre on the Gold Coast – and a mentor of the likes of Supercars next-generation stars Broc Feeney, Anton de Pasquale and Brodie Kostecki.
SVG explained that it was due to Morris that he got the Project 91 drive for the Chicago street race, based on his versatility and strength on Supercars street circuits.
He also revealed that the initial approach was late last year, resulting in a deal months ago.
“It was actually through Paul Morris, who got in touch with Boris said about it,” he told Speedcafe. “Boris put in a good word to Justin [Marks] and then Justin got in touch with me.
“I’d read all the stuff Justin was saying about that the objective of Project 91, bringing different disciplines together and giving them a shot and getting exposure for NASCAR in different parts of the world.
“It was pretty hard to imagine. I found it a bit of a dream when it was Kimi before me. It’s pretty hard to back up to someone like him, so it’s pretty amazing to be the next guy after him.
“Getting that call from Justin at the end of last year and saying it was a possibility was pretty cool to hear.
“He targeted the street race pretty early on because he knew it was something we do a lot of in Supercars. So to get that call from him at the start of the year, I was stoked.”
Van Gisbergen attended the Nashville 400 with Trackhouse on the weekend before he successfully undertook an evaluation test at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The race itself – The Grant Park 220 – takes place on Monday morning July 3 at 0730 AEST.
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