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Red Bull Ampol Racing boss Jamie Whincup rates NASCAR race winner Shane van Gisbergen a five out of 10 chance of staying in Supercars in 2024.
Van Gisbergen’s new deal with Triple Eight Race Engineering is only set to take effect next year and theoretically ties him to the championship for at least one more season.
However, with the three-time Supercars champion taking victory on his NASCAR Cup Series debut earlier this month, and now locked in for a second start, the paddock is rife with speculation that he will be racing full-time in the United States next year.
Whincup has already stated that he will not stand in the way if SVG does want to leave early, which may well prove to be the case.
Asked to rate, out of 10, the chance of the New Zealander sticking with Supercars in 2024, the Triple Eight boss said, “I think it’s a five at the moment.
“Yeah, a five. There’s not much for me to do right now until he says, ‘Hey, I really want to go to US.’
“But he hasn’t made that call yet. I think he’ll make that call shortly.
“Then once he makes that call – hopefully he stays for all of our sakes – but if he decides to move on, then I’ll start the process of working out who’s going to jump in the car.”
The Indianapolis NASCAR event, when SVG will again drive the Project91 Camaro, takes a fortnight from now, on August 11-13 (local time).
Whincup agrees that van Gisbergen’s performance at The Brickyard could have a bearing on his decision, but would rather it be made before then.
“It certainly could, but we’d all like to make a decision before that,” said the seven-time champion driver.
“It’s only two weeks away, for sure, so it’s late in the day, it’s the 12th hour, really.
“It’s past the 11th hour trying to work out who your drivers are for 2024, so we want to make a call sooner rather than later.
“Once we know a bit more, we’ll certainly let you know; we don’t try to hold any secrets.
“We just we don’t know what the line-up’s going to be for ‘24 yet.”
He denies, though, that the #97 Camaro pilot has been issued a hard deadline as such.
“We’re both on the same page, for sure,” Whincup explained.
“We haven’t set a deadline – it’s not a line in the sand – but we certainly, in both of our interests, want to make a decision sooner rather than later, so we can both move forward.”
While he hung up the helmet as a full-time Supercars driver at the end of 2021, Whincup also did not rule out the prospect of making a comeback himself in order to cover a van Gisbergen departure.
“Maybe; never say never,” said the 40-year-old.
“We’ve all seen [Fernando] Alonso do his thing. It’s only halfway through the championship there but he’s doing a great job.
“But, we’re looking around. I wish I wasn’t. I had drivers contracted for 2024 but there could be a curveball there.”
“So, there’s nothing more to add than what already know, but it is what it is.”
Van Gisbergen will not be the only Supercars Championship driver in the NASCAR Cup field at Indianapolis, with Brodie Kostecki to make his own debut in the competition with Richard Childress Racing.
Before then, they will be competing at the Beaurepaires Sydney SuperNight tomorrow.
