Shane van Gisbergen will take on a new challenge to kick off Memorial Day weekend. He will compete in the Craftsman Truck Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
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According to a Thursday announcement, van Gisbergen will join a new team on Friday, May 22. He will drive the No. 71 Chevrolet Silverado RST for Spire Motorsports as he makes his second Truck Series start of the season. His last took place at Watkins Glen International as he joined Niece Motorsports.
This will mark his second oval start in NASCAR third-tier series, as well as his first Truck Series start on an intermediate track. His Truck debut took place in 2023 as he competed at the .686-mile Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.
Oi, he's going trucking.@shanevg97 will drive the No. 71 @NationsGuard Silverado RST next weekend in Charlotte. pic.twitter.com/QMvmXxhEZT
— Spire Motorsports (@SpireMotorsport) May 14, 2026
Why would van Gisbergen make this start? One reason is that he has spoken frequently about his love of racing and the opportunity to have fun. Another reason is that making starts in other NASCAR series lets him experiment with different braking points and racing lines.
This extra time on track could become particularly helpful for van Gisbergen, who only has two Cup Series starts and one O'Reilly Auto Parts Series start at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He has a 15th-place finish in the secondary series and a 14th-place finish in last season's Coca-Cola 600.
Van Gisbergen will now join a team that has already celebrated multiple Truck Series wins this season. Spire Motorsports does not have any full-time Truck drivers this season, but the team is using a rotating lineup of All-Star drivers to fill out the schedule.
Kyle Busch won at EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta) while driving the No. 7 for Spire Motorsports. Carson Hocevar won at Texas Motor Speedway while driving the No. 77.
The other drivers to make Truck Series starts for Spire Motorsports this season are Michael McDowell, Connor Zilisch, James Hinchcliffe, Connor Mosack, Sammy Smith, and Daniel Suarez.
Zilisch has the best finish in the No. 71 this season. He took the entry to a runner-up finish at Watkins Glen International last weekend.
