Born to Dutch parents in Sacramento, van Overbeek began competitive racing in his early twenties through club racing, earning third place at the 1995 SCCA National Championship Runoffs in the American Sedan class, driving a Chevrolet Camaro. He began professional racing in 1996 in the Speed World Challenge GT, subsequently racing in Grand-Am and the American Le Mans Series. He made his ALMS debut in 1999.
Van Overbeek's association with Flying Lizard Motorsports, which began in 2004, defined the first major phase of his professional career. Racing Porsche 911 GT3-RSR machinery, he became one of the most dependable GT class competitors in the series. He is the only driver in ALMS history to have finished in the top three of the GT standings every season from 2004 through 2008 — a five-year run of consistent front-running that underlined his reliability as well as his pace. In 2007 he earned the Porsche Cup — the award given annually to the highest-placed non-factory Porsche driver in global Porsche competition — and accumulated eight victories in the ALMS during his time with the team.
Van Overbeek made multiple Le Mans starts. In the GT2 class he finished third in 2005, fourth in 2006, and sixth in 2008. He returned to La Sarthe in 2015 and 2016 in the LMP2 category, finishing seventh and tenth respectively.
Van Overbeek joined Extreme Speed Motorsports for 2010. With ESM he continued competing at the front of the Prototype and GT fields through the ALMS era and into the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. In 2012 he and Scott Sharp finished second in the ALMS GT class championship, driving a Ferrari 458 GT2. His most significant victories came in 2016, when he and co-drivers Ed Brown and Scott Sharp won both the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring in a Ligier JS P2-Honda. He added a third win at the 2018 12 Hours of Sebring, driving a Nissan Onroak DPi.
He also won the Petit Le Mans in 2007 and 2016, making the Road Atlanta circuit one of his most successful venues across his career.
Van Overbeek retired from full-time professional racing at the end of 2018 following 253 career race starts. He subsequently established 24-12 Consulting LLC, offering consultancy services. In 2023 he returned to competition with Flying Lizard Motorsports, taking a win in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America series.
Van Overbeek's career totals across more than two decades included 21 wins and 92 podiums from 253 races. The 2016 Daytona-Sebring double — a sweep of the two most prestigious endurance events on the North American calendar in a single season — stands as the landmark achievement of his professional record.
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