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

The explosive debut of Shane Van Gisbergen at the Chicago street race during the regular season shook the NASCAR world. The road course, opening after a hiatus, rolled out the red carpet for a fresh face in NASCAR. Fast forward, he’s set to join Justin Marks’ Trackhouse Racing team in 2024, embarking on a full-time gig. But first, with the 2023 Supercars finale on the horizon, it’s time for the Red Bull Ampol Racing driver to bid adieu and set his sights on the USA.

To mark this milestone, SVG was honored with a heartfelt farewell video. In it, colleagues and teammates shared their two cents about their time with SVG. Among them was his well-known adversary, Brodie Kostecki, who tipped his hat to the rising NASCAR star, admitting he’s learned so much from their on-track rivalry.

Brodie Kostecki is eager for future encounters with Shane Van Gisbergen on the racetrack

In a video shared by Supercars on Twitter, which was captioned, “Fierce rivalry on track, a close friend, teammate and mentor off track. Some of his closest rivals share their farewells to Shane van Gisbergen #RepcoSC #Supercars,” Kostecki opened up. He expressed his admiration for Van Gisbergen, having watched and learned from his racing style since his initial days.

He said, “Shane’s always been someone that I’ve looked up to and idolize what was coming up through the Super 2 ranks, and watching him race and how he goes about his racing was something I always tried to follow quite closely, and I’m glad to call him a mate. And I’m really looking forward to seeing how his career progresses over in the States and hopefully gets to meet up with him a few times next year and the few following years and race him again.”

Not to mention, these two are already set to cross paths in NASCAR too. Erebus Racing, Kostecki’s team, announced plans to dip their toes in select NASCAR Cup Series races in 2024, in partnership with Richard Childress Racing. As per motorsport.com, Richard Childress himself is hoping to pit Kostecki against Van Gisbergen on road courses and even on an oval, recognizing Kostecki’s early racing background.

The pair have already butted heads in Supercars and at the Indianapolis road course in NASCAR. It’ll be intriguing to see how they stack up against each other and the crème de la crème of NASCAR on oval tracks.

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But the video wasn’t just Kostecki’s take on Van Gisbergen; it was an array of tributes from various competitors, all tipping their hats to the champion as he transitions to a new chapter in NASCAR.

SVG earns high praise from his Supercar rivals

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After clinching his second title in 2021, Shane Van Gisbergen soared to new heights in 2022, embarking on a trophy-winning spree that broke records. Alongside three championships, he’s bagged three Bathurst 1000 wins in 2020, 2022, and 2023. Driving car #97, he’s notched up 69 victories in 235 races, cementing his status as one of Triple Eight’s legends, right up there with Whincup and Craig Lowndes.

But next year, he’s off to race with Trackhouse in the States, a move that’s got his rivals and teammates feeling a mix of emotions. Broc Feeney, both his teammate and on-track adversary, shared his thoughts in Van Gisbergen’s farewell video.

He said, “It’s been pretty cool to me. I mean just coming in as a rookie. As a teammate to someone who’s dominated the sport for the last year’s been, it’s been pretty awesome actually for me to learn off a guy like Shane who’s, I don’t even know how many wins has got over the last couple of years? It’s been pretty awesome. It’s been a lot of fun. We have had a lot of fun over the last couple of years, but for me, it’s been awesome to see him do his craft and what he’s been able to achieve in the last few years. And it’s massively helped me. So he might not think it, but it certainly has helped me a lot behind the scenes. And I work together has been a lot of fun.”

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Cameron Waters, another rival, shared similar feelings. He commented, “Obviously Shane’s been amazing over the last five years. And I’ve been pretty lucky to have some epic battles with him across, you know, three or four years. Every time you race Shane, you know it going to be pretty hardcore. […] Yeah, hopefully, he goes over to America and smashed them over there.” Here’s to hoping Shane Van Gisbergen takes NASCAR by storm, just as he did in Supercars, giving the seasoned pros a run for their money.