Shane Van Gisbergen and Connor Zilisch will both compete in the CARS Late Model Stock Tour race on Friday night at Florence Motor Speedway in South Carolina.
Of equal newsworthy importance is that both drivers will be in Red Bull wrapped cars, a significant activation for the short track series owned by NASCAR mainstays Dale Earnhardt Jr., Justin Marks, Jeff Burton and Kevin Harvick.
Van Gisbergen and Zilisch are both ‘Red Bull Athletes’ and carry those colors with them in the NASCAR Cup Series where they drive for Marks at Trackhouse Racing.
Zilisch will drive the No. 8 for JR Motorsports, the second car frequently piloted by Earnhardt, as a teammate to championship leader Caden Kvapil. ‘SVG’ will drive a second car for Hettinger Racing.
This is a return to the CARS Tour for Zilisch, who made 14 starts across the 2023 and 2024 seasons, with a win at Hickory Motor Speedway for Pinnacle Racing Group. Van Gisbergen attended the CARS Tour race at Florence last year, as the track is just a 15-minute drive away from Darlington Raceway, and came away really excited for the chance to make a start in the series someday.
The Red Bull paint schemes will be unveiled on both team’s social media channels and Earnhardt will discuss the news on the latest episode of the Dale Jr. Download that drops at 4:00
Matt Weaver is the owner and founder of Short Track Scene. Weaver grew up in the sport, having raced himself before becoming a reporter in college at the University of South Alabama. He also has extensive experience covering NASCAR, IndyCar and Dirt Sprint Cars.
