Shane van Gisbergen

Shane Robert van Gisbergen (born 9 May 1989), also known by his initials SVG, is a New Zealand professional racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 97 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Trackhouse Racing and part-time in the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, driving the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro SS for JR Motorsports. He is known for his time racing in the Supercars Championship, last driving the No. 97 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 car for Triple Eight Race Engineering. He is a three-time Supercars Champion, winning driver's titles in 2016, 2021, and 2022. With a total of 80 wins and 46 pole positions, van Gisbergen is 4th on the all-time wins list in the Supercars Championship. He has won the Bathurst 1000 three times, in 2020, 2022, and 2023.

Van Gisbergen also races in GT Racing, winning the 2016 Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour alongside Alvaro Parente and Jonathon Webb in the McLaren 650S GT3, winning the 2016 Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup, finishing 3rd overall in the 2016 Intercontinental GT Challenge and finishing in second place in the 2015 24 Hours of Daytona in the GTD class.

He won in his NASCAR Cup Series debut at the 2023 Grant Park 220 in Chicago driving the No. 91 for Trackhouse Racing, becoming the first driver to win in their NASCAR Cup Series debut since Indy car driver Johnny Rutherford in 1963, becoming only the seventh to do so in series history and the first driver to do it in the modern era of the sport. He also became the first New Zealander to win a race in the Cup Series, and he is the winningest non-American driver in the NASCAR Cup Series and the winningest rookie in a single-season.

He and Paul Morris are the only drivers to have won all three major car racing events at Mount Panorama: the Bathurst 1000, Bathurst 6 Hour and Bathurst 12 Hour.

After competing in Motocross, Quarter Midgets, and karts from 1998 to 2004, van Gisbergen placed third in the 2004/2005 New Zealand Formula First Championship and won the associated Rookie of the Year award. Van Gisbergen had previously obtained a Speedsport Star of Tomorrow Scholarship. A win in 2005/06 New Zealand Formula Ford Championship was accompanied by another Rookie of the Year title and was followed by a second-place finish in 2006/07 Toyota Racing Series.

In 2014, van Gisbergen co-drove to the BNT NZ Supertourers Hankook Super Series championship with primary driver Simon Evans. Shane won seven of the nine races in a total of the Endurance rounds, including sweeping the entire Fuchs 500 weekend at Pukekohe Park Raceway with winning race #3 in spectacular fashion, driving from one lap down.

In 2021, van Gisbergen won the New Zealand Grand Prix held as part of the Toyota Racing Series. The event is normally held for a global field; however, it was restricted to a New Zealand-only field due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with van Gisbergen entering as a wildcard. In 2023, Van Gisbergen competed in the South Island Endurance Series at Euromarque Motorsport Park, ran a Brabham BT62 with co-driver and car owner Dwayne Carter. The team encountered troubles early in the three-hour race when a right rear wheel came loose, sidelining the team for a number of laps to fix the car. The team completed over 30 laps after returning to the track before officially retiring from the race.

Driving for Team Kiwi Racing, van Gisbergen became the 200th driver to start a race in a V8 Supercar at the Jim Beam 400 at Oran Park Raceway in Round 8 of 2007. Having impressed in his 2007 races, van Gisbergen was picked up by Stone Brothers Racing in 2008. He continued with the team for five seasons until 2012, securing a best of fourth in the championship in 2011. In late 2012, he announced he would be leaving V8 Supercars but in January it emerged that he was moving to Tekno Autosports at the start of the 2013 season. Van Gisbergen faced legal action for breaking his contract with Erebus Motorsport that had purchased Stone Brothers Racing. The move to Tekno proved fruitful, with van Gisbergen finishing runner-up in the championship in 2014.