TRACKHOUSE Racing founder Justin Marks says his plans to run Shane van Gisbergen in 2024 NASCAR Cup Series races do not necessarily hinge on the acquisition of a charter.
Trackhouse’s incumbent drivers Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez are both under contract for at least another year, and Marks’ team only has two charters.
Several teams are rumoured to have shown interest in van Gisbergen’s services, but both the Kiwi and Marks have indicated a desire to continue together – likely involving some second- and third-tier drives as he gets to grips with oval racing.
“We’re working hard right now on putting a deal together for him,” Marks told media following SVG’s 10th place finish in Indianapolis.
“It’s my plan, he’ll race for Trackhouse next year alongside some of our partners in the Chevy family.
“He wants to do this. He’s done everything that he wants to do in Australia and he’s really excited and really, really good.”
A lingering question mark has been how Trackhouse facilitates even a beefed-up part-time program, given it only possesses two charters.
Marks has previously said three annual events would be the maximum for a Project 91-type campaign, with anything more essentially needing full-time resources.
He’s not so sure that a charter is a hurdle for his SVG plans, though.
“I don’t know if it matters,” he said.
“The charter thing is a funny business right now. Look, I’m running a racing business here.
“I don’t have a billion-dollar company that I can lean on or anything like that. We’ve got a lot of people that are interested.
“The barrier of entry is high financially right now and I’m not convinced you have to have one to go race.
“We’re going to try and expand and grow as a business, that’s not 100 percent dependent on us and our ability to buy a charter.”
Marks added: “His rate of adaptation has been such that we really believe this is a guy that can come in and be a star in this sport.
“We’re working on a transition for him next year, get him a lot of experience, a lot of track time in different divisions and really being intelligent and methodical with how we build that program. Then we’ll see what the future holds.”
Triple Eight is set to release van Gisbergen from his 2024 Supercars contractual obligations, having secured Will Brown as his replacement.
Van Gisbergen has, however, voiced interest in co-driving in the 2024 enduros.
