Shane van Gisbergen to get new crew chief for NASCAR race at Las Vegas

After a top-10 finish in the ROVAL 400 race at Charlotte, NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series driver Shane van Gisbergen will be looking forward to the upcoming race weekend at Las Vegas. However, the Kaulig Racing driver will be getting a new crew chief for the South Point 400, as revealed by the team on X.

Travis Mack joined as the crew chief for Kaulig's #16 race car in the Cup Series in January 2024. Apart from being the crew chief, he also assumed the role of technical director of the team. Before joining Kaulig, Mack worked as the team boss for the #99 Trackhouse Racing squad.

With just one top-five and four top-10 finishes in the entire 2024 season, the Matt Kaulig-owned team has decided to part ways with Mack ahead of the final four races of the year. Kaulig Racing shared the news on X. Here's a look at the post, captioned:

"An update regarding Kaulig Racing’s No. 16 Camaro ZL1 in the NASCAR Cup Series"

Darian Grubb will be replacing Mack. Grubb, who has one Cup Series championship (2011 with Tony Stewart) and 24 race wins to his credit, will manage van Gisbergen's South Point 400 race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on October 20th.

Although his position on the team has yet to be announced, this seems like another swap between Kaulig and Trackhouse (Grubb's current employer).

Apart from Kaulig Racing, the news of Mack's exit was also shared by senior NASCAR journalist Joseph Srigley on X. Here's a look at the post, captioned:

"NEWS: @KauligRacing has parted ways with Travis Mack, crew chief of the No. 16 in the NASCAR Cup Series, effective immediately. Darian Grubb will work with Shane van Gisbergen and the No. 16 team this weekend at Las Vegas."

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"What an amazing day. I'm lost for words" - Shane Van Gisbergen felt overwhelmed after clinching back-to-back poles for Xfinity and Cup Series races at Charlotte Roval

Shane van Gisbergen did a clean sweep on Saturday (October 12) during the Charlotte Roval weekend. The New Zealand-based three-time Australian Supercars series champion took pole position for both the Xfinity and Cup Series races for Kaulig Racing at the iconic quad-oval circuit.

"Thank you to the Kaulig Racing team. Last minute deal to come and race here. So thanks to Matt and the guys for letting me run their car. And of course, WeatherTech for coming on board, too. So Chevy's really quick. What an amazing day. I'm lost for words," van Gisbergen said during the post-qualifying interview (0:12 onwards).

"Yeah, just make sure we race clean. You know, I have to respect there's a lot of playoff guys around me. I have to race respectfully. And yeah, we're here to win the race. I got a teammate out there with me, too. So obviously the team's done a great job. But yeah, hopefully, we have a good day," he added (0:31 onwards).

Here's a look at the entire interview from YouTube:

Despite his best efforts, Shane van Gisbergen was eliminated from his first-ever Xfinity Series playoffs at Charlotte Motor Speedway.