MOTORSPORT: Brown to replace NASCAR-bound SvG

Will Brown has been named as Shane van Gisbergen’s successor at the Red Bull Ampol Racing Team, with the three-time Supercars champion switching to NASCAR at the end of this season.

The pair are currently second and third in the point standings, with both drivers having registered four race wins to date this season.

For the Red Bull outfit, the signing of Brown is a coup, with the in-form driver having been released from his Coca-Cola Erebus contract for 2024 late last week and his bubbly personality a good fit with future teammate Broc Feeney.

“As we’ve made clear from the very start, Triple Eight wholeheartedly supports SvG’s decision to showcase his world-class talent abroad, and we look forward to watching him continue to tear up the track like we witnessed in Chicago last month,” said Triple Eight Team Principal Jamie Whincup.

“Will has been on our radar for many years since he was driving an ex-Triple Eight car in the Super2 championship.

“He is exciting to watch on track, very personable and most importantly, a really good fit to our Triple Eight culture.

“The fact Broc and he grew up racing together and are friends away from the circuit is a bonus.

“Of course, we still have a fight on our hands to win the drivers’ and teams’ championships this season, and that remains Triple Eight’s immediate focus.”

Van Gisbergen, meanwhile, has not publicly revealed his future NASCAR plans, although linking up with the leading Trackhouse Racing squad is almost certain, with his program likely to contain starts in all three top tiers of the sport.

Last weekend, the Kiwi impressed on his oval racing debut in the NASCAR Truck Series, with a 19th place finish at Indianapolis Raceway Park, while he also finished 10th in the NASCAR Cup Series race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

That result was the first time since Terry Labonte in 1978 that a newcomer to the sport had registered back-to-back top-10 results in their opening two starts.

Before completing the doubleheader, van Gisbergen was a special guest on the Dale Jr Download podcast, where he opened up on his thoughts on the new Gen3 rules package.

“The qualifying there is awesome, but the racing sucks. It’s so boring. You're driving around at 30 per cent trying to keep the tyres and everybody is just following each other… It's mind-numbing,” he said.

“I came here [to NASCAR] and the race is just a hustle the whole time. You’re driving flat-out – that’s what I love.

“Fundamentally, [Gen3] is an awesome car, [but] it needs time and changes.”

The move opens up some interesting possibilities for the silly season, with speculation also questioning the future of multiple Teams Racing Charters, otherwise known as each entry’s license to race.

Jack Le Brocq is noted as Brown’s most likely replacement at Coca-Cola Racing, with the move set to be a homecoming of sorts after the 2023 race winner made his main-game debut for the squad in 2015.

Elsewhere, David Reynolds has been linked to a drive at Team 18, Tickford Racing may contract to two entries, while CoolDrive Racing is looking at the possibility of expanding to two cars.

The Repco Supercars Championship continues this weekend at the newly renamed Shell V-Power Motorsport Park in South Australia.

Join the conversation at 

our Facebook page

Or email us at 

editor@carsales.com.au