New Zealander Shane van Gisbergen has endured a rough start to the 2025 Cup Series season, managing just one top-20 finish while placing outside the top 30 in five of the seven races so far.
During Sunday’s race, he expressed frustration over his car’s handling early on, telling his crew over the radio, “It’s so tight. I can’t roll the bottom.” A shock packer fell out from the back of his car and was replaced during a pit stop, but the issue persisted. Falling a lap down, he vented, “Well, it wasn’t the rear bar. What the hell. It’s so bad. I cannot turn at all.”
His car’s performance improved slightly toward the end of the second stage, allowing him to regain the lead lap thanks to a caution-period free pass. However, during a long green-flag run in stage three, he lost a lap again. His crew brought him in for fresh tires, but disaster struck when he spun entering Turn 3 while exiting pit road. To make matters worse, his right rear wheel, which hadn’t been properly secured, detached as he got moving again.
With his race effectively over, Van Gisbergen returned to pit road to fix the issue, rejoining the race five laps down and ultimately finishing six laps behind the leader.
NASCAR has already handed out two-race bans this season to jackmen and tire changers for similar unsecured wheel incidents, including those from Kyle Busch’s #8 team and Chase Briscoe’s #19 Joe Gibbs Racing crew. If officials remain consistent, SVG’s team may also face penalties, forcing them to find replacements for Darlington.
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