Perhaps the biggest NASCAR story of this year was the victory on debut for Australian Supercars star Shane van Gisbergen at the Cup Series race at the new Chicago street course. While he was the first Cup Series driver to win on debut since Johnny Rutherford in 1963, Van Gisbergen was uniquely poised for victory. NASCAR's new Next Gen car is very similar to the machinery run in Australian Supercars, and the series runs mainly on road and street courses. Now, another Supercars driver wants to get in on the fun.
Richard Childress Racing just announced that Brodie Kostecki will run the No. 33 entry at next month's race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. The 25-year-old Australian driver is a contender for the 2023 Supercars title, just seven points off leader Will Brown at the time of writing.
"Brodie Kostecki is a young, promising driver and we're looking forward to seeing what he can do in the No. 33 MobileX Chevrolet with Richard Childress Racing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course," said Childress, in a statement. "Brodie's background in the V8 Supercar Championship will suit him well in NASCAR Cup Series racing, especially on Indy's road course configuration."
Kostecki actually spent part of his childhood in North Carolina, and says it's always been a goal to race in the Cup Series. Autosport reports that Kostecki raced in the K&N Pro Series (now the ARCA East series), where he notched up a couple poles and a best finish of fifth.
Following Van Gisbergen's stunning victory in Chicago, the time is right for another Supercars driver to try their hand at NASCAR's top series. He'll also be expected to be competitive as well.
At RCR, Kostecki will pair with Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon. The race at Indy will also see a number of stars from other racing disciplines make appearances—Jenson Button and Andy Lally will run with Rick Ware Racing, while Toyota Gazoo Racing endurance driver Kamui Kobayashi will race with 23XI.
The Verizon 200 at the IMS Road Course will be held Sunday August, 13 at 2:30 p.m. and you can watch it on NBC. We'll have our eyes on Kostecki.
A car enthusiast since childhood, Chris Perkins is Road & Track's engineering nerd and Porsche apologist. He joined the staff in 2016 and no one has figured out a way to fire him since. He street-parks a Porsche Boxster in Brooklyn, New York, much to the horror of everyone who sees the car, not least the author himself. He also insists he's not a convertible person, despite owning three.
