From 2000 to 2005, Busch carried #97 for Roush Racing – famously winning the 2004 Cup Series.
Busch’s Ford Fusion is the most noteworthy car to carry the number. He entered 184 races with #97 and won 14 of them.
In 2026, SVG will hand the #88 over to Trackhouse Racing teammate Connor Zilisch while the Kiwi will don #97 for the first time in the Cup Series.
In a short social media post addressed to van Gisbergen, Busch said he was stoked to see the number return.
“I remember meeting you in Chicago 2022 (sic) before you won your first race in your first Cup start. I could sense that you would be great,” Busch wrote.
“I also asked where the origin of the #97 came from. You said family. I am so proud that the #97 is back in NASCAR. Make it great again!”
Who has raced #97 in the NASCAR Cup Series?
Only a handful of drivers have carried #97 in the NASCAR Cup Series, and only four have won with it.
Busch was the most high-profile driver in the #97 with 14 race wins. The first of those came at Bristol in 2002 and his last was at Richmond in 2005.
Racing legend Parnelli Jones took four NASCAR wins, two of which were in a car carrying #97.
The first of Jones’ wins was at California State Fairgrounds in 1958 in the Grand National era, and the second was at Ascot Stadium in 1959.
In 1957, Bill Amick won his only NASCAR race at Capitol Speedway using #97.
The first driver to win in a car carrying #97 was Speedy Thompson, who in 1955 won at Memphis-Arkansas Speedway.
When van Gisbergen races in the 2026 Daytona 500, he will end a drought dating back more than seven years.
The most recent driver to wear #97 was Tanner Berryman, who last raced it at Homestead season finale in the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series with Obaika Racing.
Earlier that year, David Starr entered the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis in an Obaika Racing Toyota Camry.
That ended a drought dating back to 2012, when it was driven by Timmy Hill at Talladega in a NEMCO Motorsports Toyota Camry.
In the late 1990s and into the early 2000s, Chad Little campaigned #97 in a John Deere livery. He made 128 starts with the number and went winless in that time.
Other noteworthy names to have raced in the #97 include Bill Elliot, Mario Andretti, Cale Yarborough, and Ned Jarrett, who all made one start with the number.
Van Gisbergen’s race numbers in NASCAR
In his three seasons to date, van Gisbergen has driven with four different numbers in the NASCAR Cup Series.
His spectacular debut on the streets of Chicago saw him race the #91 Camaro under the Project91 banner. He returned for the Indianapolis road course later that year for his only other start in the #91 car.
In 2024, van Gisbergen moved to the United States and raced part-time in the Cup Series for Kaulig Racing. He raced primarily in the #16 Camaro, making 11 starts.
Van Gisbergen was a last-minute addition to the Charlotte ROVAL race. With AJ Allmendinger already scheduled to race the #16 Camaro, van Gisbergen was slotted into the #13 Camaro.
In 2025, van Gisbergen raced full-time in the #88 Camaro, carrying on a legacy of big-name drivers to wear the iconic number – including Dale Earnhardt Jr, Dale Jarrett, Darrell Waltrip and Ricky Rudd.
Get the latest NASCAR news, stats, and US racing coverage at Speedcafe US
Discussion about this post