DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – When Shane van Gisbergen began his transition to NASCAR just over a year ago, his goal was to eventually secure a full-time spot in the premier Cup series, and that goal is now set to become a reality in 2025.

On Saturday, Trackhouse Racing named van Gisbergen, a native of Auckland, New Zealand, as the team’s third full-time driver starting next year. Van Gisbergen will drive the No. 88 Chevrolet. Team owner Justin Marks announced the move at Daytona International Speedway, the site of this evening’s Cup race.

When 35-year-old van Gisbergen joined Trackhouse last summer, it was planned as a one-off opportunity for him to compete in the Cup’s inaugural race on the downtown Chicago street circuit, after which he would return to Australia to continue competing full-time in the V8 Supercars series, where he was a three-time champion.

But after van Gisbergen capped his debut in the weather-defying race with a convincing win – becoming the first driver since Johnny Rutherford at Daytona in 1963 to win in his Cup debut – he and Marks began talks about a full-time move to NASCAR.

From these discussions, a plan emerged with the intention of bringing van Gisbergen to the Cup sooner rather than later.

Once things got rolling, Trackhouse struck a deal with Kaulig Racing that allowed van Gisbergen to drive full-time in NASCAR’s second-tier Xfinity Series this season, where he could gain experience on oval tracks, something he had previously done only on a limited basis. The partnership included van Gisbergen driving a Kaulig car in select Cup races.

Van Gisbergen has adapted well to NASCAR in every way, winning three times in 22 Xfinity starts this season – all on road courses – and also notching two other top-five finishes, both times on oval tracks.

“What I’ve seen at SVG is how much he’s pushed us to get better, even on ovals,” Kaulig president Chris Rice said Friday. “He’s learning the cars. … And what I’ve learned is that he’s a quiet guy, but he also knows what he wants. He’s evolved by knowing what he needs.”

Van Gisbergen joins a Trackhouse team that also fields cars for Daniel Suarez and Ross Chastain. Suarez recently signed a contract extension to return to Trackhouse for the 2025 season.

The team announced Friday that it will part ways with Zane Smith at the end of the 2024 season. Smith, 25, signed a multi-year deal with the team last year to great acclaim and was loaned to Spire Motorsports for this season with the expectation that he would join Trackhouse full-time in 2025.

However, with no room for Smith on the Cup roster, Trackhouse decided to effectively fire him. At the same time that Trackhouse added a third car, Marks acquired a third charter, NASCAR’s equivalent of a franchise that guarantees certain financial rewards to the owners.

Marks confirmed Saturday that he had acquired the charter from Stewart-Haas Racing, but did not disclose a purchase price. The team, co-owned by Tony Stewart and Gene Haas, announced in May that it would disband at the end of the 2024 season and sell three of its four charters.