Will Richard Childress’ Plans for Supercars Series Driver Spoil SVG’s Dream NASCAR Career?

It’s been over two weeks since the 2023 season pulled its curtains after the eventful races in Phoenix. While the NASCAR drivers seem to bask in the festivities of the off-season, preparations for the next season are already underway for the organizations and their teams. Moreover, with the small glimpses that the teams are gradually unraveling, it seems that the 2024 Cup Series season will assuredly be a box filled with surprises.

Hinging on this element, Richard Childress dropped one of his most ambitious intents for the upcoming season. Furthermore, the probable addition to the team for the 2024 Cup Series season has raised a plethora of questions in the NASCAR community. This potential team move could also prove fatal for the Trackhouse Racing debutant Shane van Gisbergen. As a result, the burning question that looms over the Supercar champion is how this would affect his NASCAR dream.

Richard Childress’ intended driver can leave SVG in a pickle

Nothing seems impossible if one has the will to do it, and Justin Marks’ Trackhouse Racing stands as a testament to that. The team, which is still in its formative years and fielding the Project 91 car, provided a seat to Supercars champion Shane Van Gisbergen in 2023. SVG was able to win on his debut at the inaugural street race in Chicago this year. Additionally, the driver was able to notch a top-10 finish in the road course race at Indianapolis.

But it was not just Justin Marks who was ready to make a gamble. Taking a step towards the diversification of the sport was the other team under the Chevrolet banner, Richard Childress Racing. 25-year-old Australian Supercar prodigy and SVG’s rival, Brodie Kostecki was roped into the team for the road course race at Indianapolis. Kostecki joined the RCR’s regular Cup Series entrants, Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon, piloting the #33 Chevrolet Camaro. 

Unlike SVG though, Kostecki failed to have favorable luck in his debut appearance in the series. He finished 22nd in the race. Nonetheless, while Van Gisbergen promised to be back for the 2024 season, Kostecki was far from making such commitments. However, with the recent events in the NASCAR camps, it seems that it is not just Van Gisbergen who is set to cross the Pacific but also his rival and fellow driver Kostecki.

Richard Childress showed enthusiasm to rope Brodie Kostecki into the team once again for the 2024 Cup Series season. This assertion comes as a result of the alliance between RCR and Erebus Motorsports, which fields Kostecki back in Supercars. The team owner, Mr. Childress was quoted as per The Australian, “I would like to run him in at least four, maybe five (races). We have a few road courses but would like to also run him in an oval over here.”

Richard Childress also expressed, “I know he really loves Australia and he likes doing what he’s doing. He is a great spokesman for a sponsor and with his talent I think people will just like Brodie because he is going to be successful over here. We didn’t do that good a job for him (at Indianapolis)[…]Brodie is a very talented young man, his personality is great and he fits well with our people back at the shop.”

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Brodie Kostecki’s past experience may prove to be fatal for SVG

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Having said that, if Brodie Kostecki joins the Cup Series as a full-timer, it would be a threat to SVG. The latter is set to join NASCAR from the next season onward under the developmental program of Trackhouse Racing. There is no denying the fact that the Kiwi driver has tasted success in both of his Cup Series appearances. But it is also to be noted that both his successes came from road courses. 

For a sport like NASCAR, it is the oval tracks that hold a coveted position than the limited road courses. In that sense, SVG has a learning curve ahead of him before he creates a dent in the sport. On the contrary, Kostecki has already gained significant experience in NASCAR, through his past runs in the minor series.

Kostecki was a part of the USAC Ford Focus Series, back in 2011. He has three national championships, marked with 27 wins. Furthermore, at the age of 15, Kostecki surpassed drivers like Bubba Wallace and Ty Dillon to win the Late Model Series at Rockingham Speedway. This achievement was the first for a non-American driver at the track. He has also recorded 16 ARCA Menards Series East appearances, winning two pole positions, and seizing one top-5 finish and four top-10 finishes. 

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With the deal on the verge of finalizing between the driver and RCR, it will be interesting to see what lies ahead for Van Gisbergen. He stands second in the Supercars championship while Kostecki leads the championship table and is prying for his maiden title.