Triple Eight Race Engineering has confirmed Will Brown will replace Shane van Gisbergen at the team starting next year as the New Zealand ace makes the switch to NASCAR.
Signing a three-year contract to race for Red Bull Ampol Racing, Brown’s confirmation comes a week after Erebus Motorsport announced his exit and Triple Eight Race Engineering reaffirmed its position in retaining van Gisbergen.
The reigning Repco Supercars champion signed a two-year extension earlier this year prior to his race winning NASCAR Cup Series debut in Chicago, with an exit clause for 2025.
Triple Eight Race Engineering released the following statement:
“The announcement comes as the team has agreed to allow Shane ‘SVG’ van Gisbergen to explore his dreams to race in overseas categories in 2024 and beyond.”
Triple Eight Team Principal Jamie Whincup is excited to welcome Brown to the multi-title winning squad in 2024.
“As we’ve made clear from the very start, Triple Eight wholeheartedly supports SVG’s decision to showcase his world class talent abroad and we look forward to watching him continue to tear up the track like we witnessed in Chicago last month,” said Whincup.
“Will has been on our radar for many years since he was driving an ex-Triple Eight car in the Super2 championship.
“He is exciting to watch on track, very personable and most importantly, a really good fit to our Triple Eight culture.
“The fact Broc [Feeney] and him grew up racing together and are friends away from the circuit is a bonus.
“Of course, we still have a fight on our hands to win the Drivers’ and Teams’ Championships this season, and that remains Triple Eight’s immediate focus.”
Brown raced a Triple Eight constructed Commodore in Super2 fielded by Eggleston Motorsport before signing with Erebus Motorsport in 2018 and 2019 as a co-driver before aligning with its Super2 affiliate Image Racing in 2020, he moved to the main series in 2021.
Van Gisbergen is believed to be on the path to signing a deal with Trackhouse Racing for a part-program in next year’s NASCAR Cup Series.