The ARCA Menards Series season opener at Daytona on Feb. 17, 2024, will feature a guest as Shane van Gisbergen will join the lineup.
The three-time Supercars champion will participate in the ARCA race as he gains approval from NASCAR to compete in the Xfinity Series race at Daytona later in the day.
Van Gisbergen will run the full Xfinity season with Kaulig Racing in 2024 while making a minimum of seven Cup starts.
“We’re in the process of getting (van Gisbergen) in the ARCA race for Daytona,” Trackhouse Racing President Ty Norris said on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Friday morning. “There’s a (annual pre-race practice) in January and the Xfinity Series has a pretty lengthy practice, so there’s a lot of opportunities to be observed.
“That’ll lead to an approval for Daytona and once he’s approved at Daytona, we’ll be able to go to any track on the circuit.”
The ARCA race at Daytona will mark the 61st consecutive season the series has raced at the Florida track. This 200-mile event will mark van Gisbergen’s first time competing on a superspeedway and experiencing the draft. Van Gisbergen will then attempt to complete another 300 miles during the Xfinity race as he begins his first full NASCAR season.
“Our first race, I don’t really know how to approach it or what to expect,” van Gisbergen said about superspeedway racing during a Thursday media availability. “We get a little bit of practice so I can get a feel for the car and the cars around me at that speed, but that style of racing is so far removed from everything I’ve ever done.
“Superspeedways is probably what I’m most anxious about, or unsure about what’s going to happen or how the cars race. That’s going to be a tough first one.”
The ARCA Menards Series will hold its annual preseason practice at Daytona on Jan. 12-13. If weather disrupts the schedule, the series will return to Daytona on Jan. 14 to complete the practice.
