THE car in which Shane van Gisbergen will make his NASCAR Cup Series debut has already been at the centre of two landmark moments in recent history.
Some chassis sleuthing has uncovered that van Gisbergen’s start in Chicago this weekend will be the 10th race of this particular Chevrolet Camaro’s life.
MORE: How and when to watch SVG’s NASCAR debut
All cars in the NASCAR field are still relatively new, given the Next Gen ruleset only came into effect at the start of last season.
Van Gisbergen’s car debuted on May 8, 2022 at Darlington Raceway in the hands of Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez. The result was 10th.
Suarez created history with his next outing in the car, becoming the first Mexican-born driver to win a Cup Series race.
That breakthrough came at Sonoma Raceway on June 12.
Race number three for the car wasn’t until August 21, and this time it had a fresh number and a new driver behind the wheel.
That was as 2007 Formula 1 world champion Kimi Raikkonen made his Cup Series debut at Watkins Glen in Trackhouse’s first ever Project 91 entry.
The car’s six starts since then have all been with Suarez in the driver’s seat: at Bristol Motor Speedway and the Charlotte Roval late last year; plus the LA Coliseum, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Martinsville Speedway and the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro in 2023.
Van Gisbergen is only the second driver to represent Project 91, a concept by Trackhouse owner Justin Marks to bring international motorsport superstars into NASCAR for wildcard appearances.
With Darian Grubb as his crew chief, van Gisbergen tested at the Charlotte Roval earlier this week and will get his first taste of an all-in session when Cup Series practice at the Chicago Street Course starts at 1:30pm Saturday local time (3:30am Sunday AEST).
Qualifying will follow, beginning an hour after practice commences.
The 100-lap, 220-mile race is scheduled to start at 5:30pm Sunday local time (7:30am Monday AEST).
Only the race will be shown live via Fox Sports/Kayo Sports.
