Will Shane van Gisbergen bring Red Bull back to NASCAR?
Trackhouse Racing is the king right now when it comes to NASCAR marketing, but can they convince Red Bull to come back to the sport with Shane van Gisbergen? That is a massive question and one that won’t be answered for a little while longer.
However, recent happenings have NASCAR fans curious as to what they might see on SVG’s cars next year. Now, before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let’s lay out some things. Daniel Suárez is a Coca-Cola athlete, who owns Monster Energy, Red Bull’s direct competitor.
Not to mention, Kaulig Racing has a big deal with Celsius. So, Red Bull doesn’t have a ton of space to barge in at Trackhouse or Kaulig, who Shane van Gisbergen will race for in 2024.
That hasn’t stopped fans from pointing out an interesting addition to a Justin Marks Instagram Story post – the Trackhouse co-owner tagged Red Bull. While showing SVG signing his official paperwork, Marks included Red Bull in the tags along with sponsor WeatherTech.
So, this could mean a few things. If you want to be an ultimate optimist, this means the energy drink brand could have a presence in the sport this year. Or it just means we’ll see Red Bull on SVG’s helmet and nothing more.
In various photos and even the schedule announcement, van Gisbergen donned a Red Bull cap – so it might be some fire with that smoke.
Shane van Gisbergen could change NASCAR
Already we have seen Richard Childress Racing and reportedly RFK Racing reach into the Supercars ranks to pull drivers. Brodie Kostecki will be in the United States for select races this season as Erebus Motorsport try their hands in NASCAR. Cam Waters is the driver named for the potential RFK Stage 60 car for road course races.
That is all due to Shane van Gisbergen winning in his debut at Chicago. He then went on to finish P10 at Indy, despite having minor issues during the event. SVG is a driver that could change NASCAR and help push it along on this new wave of interest in motorsports.
With Trackhouse Racing, van Gisbergen can be the star of the future. While he has a lot of work to do, this year especially, before he goes full-time Cup Series racing, he is poised to succeed.
Imagine if van Gisbergen makes the Xfinity Series Championship 4. While it will be difficult, he could manage to make it to Phoenix. All of that is fine and well. But if he is also able to pull sponsors like Red Bull into the sport – it’s even more than on-the-track success.
So, what do you expect from van Gisbergen? Is he the next big thing or will he not reach the level of stardom many expect from him?