Shane van Gisbergen enters the NASCAR series as the most talked about international driver, but he's not getting carried away by it.
Alongside a full campaign in the second-tier Xfinity Series, the three-time Supercars champion confirmed he will contest seven Cup Series races with Trackhouse Racing.
Van Gisbergen took the American racing world by storm in July when he became the first driver in 60 years to win his maiden NASCAR start after conquering Chicago in the series' first street race.
The New Zealand native’s heroics matched that of three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Johnny Rutherford, who also raced in the 1977 Bathurst 1000, when he won at Daytona in 1963.
And it was that famous win in Chicago that van Gisbergen says put a fire in his belly.
"I could not stop thinking about racing full-time in NASCAR," he said on Friday.
"I've done Supercars since 2007 when I moved to Australia so to come here and start again - I'm pretty excited."
But van Gisbergen admits it would be unrealistic to expect him to replicate his Supercars success immediately overseas.
He leaves Supercars as the fourth most successful driver, with 81 wins, 48 pole positions and 176 podiums.
The 34-year-old won his first championship in 2016 and was near-unstoppable as he claimed the 2021 and 2022 titles.
He fell short of claiming his fourth crown in November after a collision with Erebus driver Will Brown forced him out of the first Adelaide 500 race.
Dogged by car troubles throughout the weekend, van Gisbergen did not finish the second race of the round in what was a disappointing end to his career in Australia.
Patience will be key in the Cup Series, with van Gisbergen pointing to Australian driver Marcus Ambrose's journey on the oval tracks.
"It took him three seasons before he was racing in the Cup Series and I forgot about that side of things," van Gisbergen said.
"You know, it's not going to be an easy transition. There's going to be a lot of learning, a lot of growing pains.
"This style of racing is so far removed from everything I've ever done.
"I'm trying not to have expectations. I have no idea what we're going to achieve."
Van Gisbergen's first race in the Xfinity Series gets underway at Daytona International Speedway on February 17, 2024.
The Florida race consists of 300 miles (483 km) across 120 laps.
VAN GISBERGEN'S NASCAR CUP SERIES PROGRAM:
* Circuit of The Americas on March 24
* Talladega Superspeedway on April 21 and October 6
* Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 26
* Chicago Street Race on July 7
* Watkins Glen International on September 15
* Las Vegas Motor Speedway on October 20.
