Shane van Gisbergen's Supercars future is again up in the air after the three-time champion's stunning victory on NASCAR debut.
The Red Bull Ampol star became the first driver in 60 years to win their maiden NASCAR start when he conquered Chicago in the American series' first street race.
Van Gisbergen's heroics matched Johnny Rutherford - a three-time Indianapolis 500 winner - who also raced in the 1977 Bathurst 1000 - when he won at Daytona in 1963.
The 34-year-old's extraordinary triumph in the United States has already fuelled speculation his days in Supercars might be limited.
His immediate future in the touring car scene seemed to have been put to rest in April when a “multi-year” contract extension was announced by Triple Eight.
But in a later interview, van Gisbergen said he was looking forward to “at least one more year here, which is cool”.
He was asked to clarify whether the deal was only a one-year extension and sheepishly confirmed that was correct.
After winning in Chicago, van Gisbergen briefly addressed his future in Australia.
“I’m committed next year to Supercars,” he said.
“I still love Supercars and hope it goes well there. But in (20)25, who knows.
"I'm doing one more year in Aus, then I'd love to come over here."
Red Bull Ampol boss Jamie Whincup is realistic van Gisbergen is going to be in high demand and offers will be flying in for him to leave Supercars.
Whincup said he would not stand in his former teammate's way if van Gisbergen wanted to leave at the end of this season.
"He's only contractually bound to us for next year," the Supercars legend told Fox Sports on Tuesday.
"Sitting here right now, of course I'm trying to run the business as well as I possibly can and I need the best drivers.
"But if any driver, engineer, employee came to me and said 'hey, my dream is to go to the other side of the world and do something else' then I'm not going to stand in their way.
"I want to open up opportunities for all my staff.
"I'm sure SVG (van Gisbergen) is just on a wave right now."
Van Gisbergen will return to Supercars action this weekend in Townsville as he attempts to cut the lead on season leader Brodie Kostecki.
