"You have to make this move" - Bubba Wallace's spotter gives his take on Shane van Gisbergen's NASCAR promotion

Shane van Gisbergen was announced as a full-time Cup driver for Trackhouse Racing ahead of last weekend's race at Daytona. Gisbergen, who took the NASCAR world by storm with his infamous win at the Chicago Street race, will drive the #88 car in 2025.

The Kiwi driver will replace Zane Smith in the team co-owned by Justin Marks and Pitbull. And according to Freddie Kraft, Bubba Wallace's spotter, Trackhouse going for SVG was a "no-brainer."

Appearing on the Door Bumper Clear podcast, Kraft said:

"I think if you're Trackhouse, you have to make this move because instantly...Zane has obviously turned it up in the last month and a half and he's running much better... but you instantly have a chance to win 5 road course races next year, and that's what this sport is about. You get the win and you get in the playoffs. SVG will legitimately give you a chance to win 5 races tomorrow, the second you sign him," [34:21].

The spotter added how Harrison Burton, by winning at Daytona, helped Wood Brothers make close to $3 million as he jumped from 34th in standings to inside the top 20. He said this showed the value of a driver that can get into the playoffs.

He added:

"That's a big deal, carries over for years on the charter side because that's the charter value. And if you can get in the playoffs[...] if SVG runs the same as Zane Smith and wins one race, it's the same $3 million jump for them. It sucks for Zane but I think it's a no-brainer for Trackhouse," Kraft added [35:00].

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Shane van Gisbergen says he didn't expect NASCAR progress to be so quick

After his full-time Cup move was announced last week, Shane van Gisbergen opened up on how his time has been so far in NASCAR.

SVG said that the last 18 months for him have been "pretty awesome" and a huge life change.

He said:

"I never thought it would happen this quick and I’m very glad we’ve done the learning year this year in Xfinity. Kaulig Racing has been great to work with, and then also a lot more races to finish the year now. Been a huge learning experience but just excited to get full-time in the Cup Series next year,” he described as per NASCAR.

Meanwhile, team owner Justin Marks said of van Gisbergen:

"He’s put in a tremendous amount of work. Great human being, very, very talented race car driver, and somebody with an incredibly, incredibly bright future. So we’re very excited to have them here.”

This season, while van Gisbergen has failed to finish inside the top 20 in his 5 Cup Series starts, the story in Xfinity has been very different. Not only has SVG registered 3 wins to his name, two of which were back-to-back, he also has a couple of top 5 finishes at oval tracks, at Atlanta and Indianapolis, to his name.

Next season, van Gisbergen would hope to replicate his finishes in the Xfinity Seres at the Cup level for Trackhouse Racing.