Supercars ace Brodie Kostecki set for NASCAR; The Giz returning too!

It’s always the way… you don’t see a Supercars bloke in a NASCAR drive for ages, then two come along at once.

July 20: Shane van Gisbergen confirms NASCAR return

Shane van Gisbergen will join Kostecki at Indianapolis, announcing today that he'll return to NASCAR with Project 91 next month.

This means two Supercars race winners will roll out on the grid on August 13, while a third – two-time champion Scott McLaughlin – will be on track the day prior in his Penske IndyCar.

“I never dreamed this could have all rolled out this way,” said van Gisbergen.

“Just getting to race in NASCAR is an opportunity I never thought I would get, but then to win and get another chance this year is beyond anything I imagined.

“I can’t thank [Trackhouse founder and owner] Justin Marks, everyone at Trackhouse Racing and NASCAR enough for this opportunity.”

July 19: Supercars ace Brodie Kostecki set to tackle NASCAR

A second Supercars star will take on the Americans at their own game, with Aussie Brodie Kostecki lining up in August to race at NASCAR’s Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course event.

Kostecki, who drives a Chevrolet Corvette for Erebus Motorsport, currently sits second in the Supercars championship standings behind his teammate Will Brown.

Like van Gisbergen, whose win on debut at Chicago rocked the motorsport fraternity, West Australian native Kostecki will have only a short amount of time to acclimatise to his ride, a Chevrolet Corvette backed by Australian mobile communication doyen Peter Adderton and his Mobile X brand, before heading into the race on August 13.

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Unlike van Gisbergen, though, Kostecki has some idea of what to expect from the American series, having spent time living and racing in the US in various NASCAR feeder series.

“Racing is at the core of everything I do, and NASCAR has been a lifelong goal of mine after spending years growing up in the sports heartland in North Carolina,” said Kostecki.

“It’s a whole different world over there and any additional time I can spend racing is only going to help me try and win my first Supercars Championship.”

Kostecki, 25, made a brief trip to the US last month to embed with Richard Childress Racing at an event in Illinois.

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“We got some great exposure to the inner sanctum of the team during our recent trip, and I cannot wait to immerse myself in the team, this time as a Cup Series driver,” said Kostecki.

Kostecki’s team boss, Barry Ryan, is supportive of his young charge’s aspirations.

“We encourage him to race as much as he can,” said Ryan. “We have always encouraged Brodie’s pursuit of more racing opportunities.

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“Providing him with the chance to explore and excel in various racing disciplines not only enhances his skills but also contributes to the overall growth and success of our team.”

The motorsport world will watch Kostecki’s debut with keen interest. The unprecedented success of van Gisbergen last month in Chicago has placed a spotlight firmly on the top tier of Supercars racers – and it could be argued that Kostecki, who will team up with NASCAR superstars Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon in one of the category’s powerhouse teams, will perform every bit as well as his Kiwi Supercars rival.

Kostecki won’t enjoy the advantage of racing on a track never used before by NASCAR, however, with the series racing on the Indy road course since 1994.