Trackhouse Racing officially announced in Daytona about two hours before the Coke Zero Sugar 400 that Shane Van Gisbergen will be a full-time NASCAR Cup driver in 2025.

Trackhouse, which has acquired one of the Stewart-Haas Racing charters, will field three Cup teams next year with drivers born in three different countries – the United States, Mexico and New Zealand.

“I never thought it would happen so quickly,” said Van Gisbergen, whose crew chief for the No. 88 Chevrolet will be Stephen Doran. “It’s been a huge learning experience. It’s a different world. You’re still racing cars, but it’s a completely different sport.”

In addition to a full-time Cup program in 2025, Van Gisbergen hopes to compete in select NASCAR Xfinity Series races with Kaulig Racing. This year, Kaulig had an agreement with Trackhouse to field a Chevrolet for Van Gisbergen in the Xfinity Series. With four races remaining in the regular season, Van Gisbergen leads that series with three wins.

Van Gisbergen shocked the motorsport world last year when he won his Cup Series debut in the first Chicago Street Course race, and followed that up with a 19^thPlace in his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park and a 10th place in his second Cup race at the Indianapolis Grand Prix track.

SHR announces status of layoffs

Up to 323 employees will be laid off at Stewart-Haas Racing when the team closes at the end of the 2024 season, team executives told the North Carolina Department of Commerce.

A document filed with the state Department of Commerce said the layoffs would take effect Dec. 31 and would begin Nov. 11, the day after the NASCAR Cup Series championship race in Phoenix. Employees were notified of SHR’s closure on May 28. The document also noted that the laid-off employees “are not members of a union.”

Since then, team co-owner Gene Haas has announced that he will retain one of the team’s four charters and field the Haas Factory Team in the 2025 season. SHR “noted the transition” in its layoff notice, stating that the newly named company’s employee count will be 90 to 100.

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Hendrick sues Hooters

Hendrick Motorsports has filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Hooters to recover the sponsorship money the NASCAR team says it is owed for Chase Elliott’s No. 9 Chevrolet.

According to court documents, Hooters made an initial partial payment of $45,000 in March. The restaurant chain, which announced in June that it would close 44 “underperforming” locations nationwide, has reportedly refused to pay the remainder of the contract, which Hendrick said should have been paid in four installments. Hendrick Motorsports is suing for the remainder of the contract, which is worth more than $1.7 million.

Hooters was Elliott’s primary sponsor in Atlanta and Texas. Hooters was also scheduled to be his primary sponsor for August’s race in Richmond, but by the time the team was in Nashville in late June, the Hooters decal had been removed from the associate sponsor position on Elliott’s car. At that point, Hendrick issued a statement saying Hooters was “unable to meet its business obligations.”

Hendrick filed the lawsuit on July 30. According to the lawsuit, Hendrick’s contract with Hooters stipulated that the team would receive four payments of $437,500 on March 10, June 10, August 10 and October 10.

Hooters was one of Elliott’s sponsors from 2017 through June. This year, he won in Texas with Hooters as the primary sponsor. It was the company’s first win as a primary sponsor since the late Alan Kulwicki won at Pocono in 1992.

Truex’s racing plans for 2025 include Daytona 500

Martin Truex Jr. will retire from full-time participation in the NASCAR Cup Series at the end of the season, but already has his sights set on the Daytona 500 in 2025.

“I think it’s as good as over,” Truex said at Daytona International Speedway.

Truex is rumored to be driving a 23XI Racing car, but he declined to name the team, saying, “Coach (Joe Gibbs) is trying to figure that out. I’ll leave it up to him.”