It was a horrific end to such a glorious career when 3-time Supercars champion Shane Van Gisbergen went out in the opening lap, getting into the fence to end his day in tragedy in the Vailo Adelaide 500. While his farewell race in the series culminated in a disaster with the sun slowly fading down on his 16-and-a-half-season-long career in the Aussie promotion, it is indeed a new dawn for his NASCAR career as the driver gears up to storm the gates of the Stock Car Racing world.

With one of its star drivers and arguably one of the sport’s very best hanging the boots, his long-time partner of 7 years, Red Bull, extended their wishes, reminding his new family at Trackhouse Racing to make hay and take care of their paragon.

Supercars bid farewell to Shane Van Gisbergen as Red Bull keys in with a special note for its champion

Except for the disappointing start in his farewell season, SVG has had everything under the sun in the Supercars series. He is often touted as the greatest to ever do it, putting him on a pedestal alongside the sport’s greats like Craig Lowndes and Scott McLaughlin. In a nutshell, the man simply races anything. Put him in a rally car, a GT production model, or even a Cup car, and he will probably cross the finish line at a blistering pace on his own terms.

Though he was quite a polarizing personality in Australia after his debut in 2007, the New Zealander has grown out to be a respectable character who embodies the values of a true champion. Now coming to the meat of the matter, with its long-time driver biding goodbye, going over to NASCAR, Red Bull Racing sent out a special tweet, mentioning Justin Mark and co. at Trackhouse Racing to “Take good care of our(their) man.” 

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Rivals pay tribute to the departing legend, SVG

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In a career spanning more than 16 years, SVG has always managed to push himself beyond his limits, giving the fans a thriller of a race. Across his illustrious career, he has had over 81 wins from 508 races, 176 podiums, and 48 poles to add to the legacy that he leaves behind in the sport.

Above all, his uncanny ability to find a niche and adapt to the conditions shows how versatile he is as a driver. NASCAR’s inaugural street race in downtown Chicago is a perfect instance to prove this point. Despite the rain-soaked race track and its tight city lanes, the Supercars driver did what he does best: adapt and improvise

The 34-year-old even incorporated the old-school toe over-heel shifting technique to perfectly balance braking and speeding, something that is pretty much alien to drivers in this era.

READ MORE: Richard Childress’ Supercars Sensation Sends Heartfelt Farewell Message to Shane Van Gisbergen Amidst NASCAR Switch

Reacting to his farewell from the sport, his rival, and 2023 Supercars champion, Brodie Kostecki, said, “I’ve always looked up and you know idolized you know when I was coming up through the Super 2 ranks and watching him race and how he goes about his racing was you know something I always tried to follow quite closely.” 

“I’m glad to call him a mate and really looking forward to seeing how his career progresses over in the States and hopefully gets to meet up with him a couple of times next year and the following years and race him again,” added the 26-year-old as he paid his respects to the departing champion.