Shane van Gisbergen and Trackhouse Racing have received a tangible endorsement of their efforts in Chicago with the return of a rookie NASCAR sponsor for Indianapolis.
The three-time Supercars champion became the first debut Cup Series race winner in 60 years with his triumph on the streets of Windy City in the ‘Project91’ Camaro.
Then, Car #91 sported major backing from Enhance Health, in its first race as a NASCAR sponsor.
Now, the ‘digital health insurance brokerage and care navigation platform’ has come back for more, including a sweepstakes, meaning a similar look for Car #91 at The Brickyard.
“We are incredibly excited to get back on the course with Trackhouse and SVG after the historic win in Chicago,” said Matt Herman, CEO and President of Enhance Health.
“At Enhance Health, we love partnering with champions that amplify our message of increasing access to healthcare in America and can’t wait to see the Enhance Camaro run again in Indy.
“As a digital health insurance brokerage and care navigation platform, Enhance Health is dedicated to ensuring that individuals and families have access to affordable and quality health insurance.
“Breaking down barriers to healthcare and improving the lives of underserved communities is at the heart of their mission.”
The sponsorship is a notable development considering van Gisbergen has now made it clear that his intention is to leave Supercars and race in NASCAR, at least part-time, in 2024.
Trackhouse co-owner Justin Marks did not rule out expanded the Car #91 programme for van Gisbergen when he spoke after the Chicago victory, declaring that the seat now belonged to the Kiwi.
“If we ever expand to a third full-time team [entry], it’s good that we’re going through this exercise right now with the 91, because, we’re doing sort of three teams’ worth of work in the shop as we lead into the Project91 races,” he explained at the time.
“But I think, beyond that, it starts to become a third team deal, which is a whole ‘nother conversation for our company.
“And then beyond that, I’m pretty confident that it’s Shane’s seat right now.
“You know, he did such an incredible job, obviously just put on an incredible race [in Chicago].
“Project91 is about bringing all different kinds of drivers in and we certainly still have the desire to rotate drivers through, but winning feels pretty good and Shane just did it, so I think if he can continue to deliver that, the door is open for him to do more, for sure.”
Van Gisbergen was tight-lipped in Sunday’s post-race Supercars press conference when asked if he was in talks with just Trackhouse or multiple teams.
The Indianapolis event also marks Brodie Kostecki’s NASCAR Cup debut, with his Richard Childress Racing entry to be supported by Supercars’ SuperView platform, on top of major backing from Peter Adderton’s MobileX.
“We’re very excited to be backing Brodie and his team on his NASCAR debut with the SuperView advertisement,” said Supercars CEO Shane Howard.
“Shane van Gisbergen’s spectacular victory [last month] was seen around the globe, and we received more than 14,000 expressions of interest in SuperView within days after the win.
“That resulted in more than two million views on our website for our Townsville event one week later and 3.3 million YouTube minutes watched over the same period.
“This partnership presents an excellent opportunity for us to highlight the exceptional streaming quality and comprehensive coverage that SuperView offers to racing fans all around the world.”
SuperView is available for Supercars fans outside Australia and New Zealand.
The Indianapolis event, which also includes an IndyCar race, takes place on August 11-13.
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