NASCAR: 3 possible landing spots for Shane van Gisbergen in 2024
By Logan Ploder
Shane van Gisbergen NASCAR landing spots: No. 2 – Stewart-Haas Racing
Tony Stewart loves a good wheelman, and Shane van Gisbergen is certainly that.
Who he also loves are drivers who earned their way to the top through hard work and raw talent, rather than “rich kids” whose fathers buy them their way to the top. Once again, van Gisbergen qualifies.
Given Stewart-Haas Racing’s abysmal 2023 season, which has seen three of their four drivers run outside the top 23 in the point standings, plus the fact that their lone bright spot in Kevin Harvick is set to retire at the end of the year, more change is inevitable.
While Josh Berry has already been announced as Harvick’s replacement behind the wheel of the No. 4 Ford, that doesn’t mean the rest of the team is necessarily safe. Most notably, Aric Almirola is not guaranteed to return next year, and he recently said that he and the team have 30 to 60 days to decide on their future together.
Front Row Motorsports’ Michael McDowell is reportedly the favorite to replace Almirola if he were to part ways with Stewart-Haas Racing. However, that doesn’t mean he is their only option.
Van Gisbergen would add massively to both the talent and experience of Stewart-Haas Racing’s four-driver lineup, and he would be among great company, including Stewart himself, to learn the ins and outs of NASCAR racing.
Given his success in cars that are, relatively speaking, similar to modern-day Cup cars, his experience could bring forth new methods of car setup, or even general team operation, to help bring Stewart-Haas Racing back to their dominant form from just a few years ago.