Earlier this year, reigning Supercars champion Will Brown made a splash with his second-ever NASCAR Cup Series appearance at the Chicago Street Race, piloting the No. 13 Chevrolet for Kaulig Racing while following in the footsteps of former rival Shane van Gisbergen. 

The 27-year-old Australian champion, fresh off his 2024 Supercars title, brought $500,000 in sponsorships to fuel his debut, only to have the event end prematurely in a multi-car wreck that left him 39th while Van Gisbergen went on to claim victory.

Brown’s injury-filled outing could have been the end of his NASCAR crossover, but instead, Kaulig Racing swung back with an olive branch.

In a video posted to Kaulig’s official X (Twitter) account, Brown recounted receiving a career-changing message: “They emailed me after, they did say at the end of the event, ‘this isn’t the way we want to finish’. … They emailed and said, ‘No we’re going to get you back over… run me, put all the same sponsors back on, and give them their coverage.’”

Brown’s gratitude for Kaulig’s gesture was clear. He praised team leadership and thanked them, saying: “It’s great of them because they didn’t have to do it… I was stoked when I got that email, and they said, ‘You can come over and do this.’”

Sign up to our NASCAR newsletter here.

That outreach sets the stage for Brown’s upcoming NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at the Portland International Raceway.

The event, scheduled for late August, will see him back behind the wheel, this time in the No. 11 Chevrolet Camaro, with his Australian backers still featured prominently.

Brown’s return carries more than just redemption — it’s a chance to repay faith and exposure for his sponsors, whose investments hinged on his NASCAR incarnation. “I kind of felt like when I got back, I did all of that and got all the sponsors onboard… I’ve done all that effort and I’ve got nothing,” Brown remarked.

DON’T MISS

“Now with them saying I’m going over to do Portland, I’m like, well, it’s all for something. It’s brought another opportunity to go over and race, so looking forward to that.”

For Kaulig Racing, a team with growing ambitions across NASCAR’s top tiers, welcoming Brown back is a low-risk, high-reward proposition. His Supercars title and openness to embracing the NASCAR challenge fit their role in bringing international talent into the series.