“This Is Embarrassing”: Shane van Gisbergen Voices Frustration Mid-race at Darlington as NASCAR Playoffs Kick Off

Jerry Bonkowski | 01/09/2025
Aug 10, 2025; Watkins Glen, New York, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Shane van Gisbergen (88) looks on prior to the Go Bowling at The Glen at Watkins Glen International.

Shane van Gisbergen entered the NASCAR Cup playoffs sixth in the 16-driver field. And, of course, he had every reason to harbor high hopes coming into Sunday’s playoff-opening race at Darlington Raceway.

Instead, SVG, who, with four victories, was tied with Denny Hamlin for most wins during the 26-race regular season, fell far behind midway through Stage 2. He dropped one lap off the lead runners and ended Stage 2 in a disappointing 29th place.

“This car is unraceable,” SVG told his crew over the team radio. “This is embarrassing. I can’t turn, there’s no drive, it’s just not even close.”

SVG’s Trackhouse Racing team responded that the car would improve as the race fell into full darkness, which led SVG to respond, “Yeah, I f***ing hope so … sorry for the language.”

But somehow, Van Gisbergen worked his way back to get the free pass. He then continued moving up the field to get back into the top 10. He was as high as third place with about 85 laps left in the Cook Out Southern 500 crown jewel event.

As the No. 88 car roared back into contention, SVG thanked his team for their efforts to make the car go from unraceable to very much race worthy. “That’s what we needed,” SVG said on his team radio after getting the free pass.

“It was absolutely awful in traffic. Thanks for getting me through that. I was losing my s**t out there,” added the New Zealander.

Van Gisbergen needed a good finish because ovals are not his strong point. The only road course in the playoffs is on the Charlotte Roval. But even that comes only in the Round of 12, meaning SVG has to find some way to not be one of the four drivers who get eliminated after the three races in the Round of 16.

Unfortunately, SVG fell two laps down late in the third stage. The race was won by Chase Briscoe, while Van Gisbergen finished in 32nd position. The result will be a big hit to his hopes of getting into the Round of 12.

Post Edited By: Karthik Raman
Darlington Raceway NASCAR Playoffs Shane Van Gisbergen Southern 500 Trackhouse Racing

About the author

Jerry Bonkowski

Jerry Bonkowski

Jerry Bonkowski is a veteran sportswriter who has worked full-time for many of the top media outlets in the world, including USA Today (15 years), ESPN.com (4+ years), Yahoo Sports (4 1/2 years), NBCSports.com (8 years) and others. He has covered virtually every major professional and collegiate sport there is, including the Chicago Bulls' six NBA championships (including heavy focus on Michael Jordan), the Chicago Bears Super Bowl XX-winning season, the Chicago White Sox and Chicago Cubs World Series championships, two of the Chicago Blackhawks' NHL titles, Tiger Woods' PGA Tour debut, as well as many years of beat coverage of the NFL, MLB, NHL and NBA for USA Today. But Jerry's most notable achievement has been covering motorsports, most notably NASCAR, IndyCar, NHRA drag racing and Formula One. He has had a passion for racing since he started going to watch drag races at the old U.S. 30 Dragstrip (otherwise known as "Where the Great Ones Run!") in Hobart, Indiana. Jerry has covered countless NASCAR, IndyCar and NHRA races and championship battles over the years. He's also the author of a book, "Trading Paint: 101 Great NASCAR Debates", published in 2010 (and he's hoping to soon get started on another book). Away from sports, Jerry was a fully sworn part-time police officer for 20 years, enjoys reading and music (especially "hair bands" from the 1980s and 1990s), as well as playing music on his electric keyboard, driving (fast, of course!), spending time with Cyndee his wife of nearly 40 years, the couple's three adult children and three grandchildren (with more to come!), and his three dogs -- including two German Shepherds and an Olde English Bulldog who thinks he's a German Shepherd.. Jerry still gets the same excitement of seeing his byline today as he did when he started in journalism as a 15-year-old high school student. He is looking forward to writing hundreds, if not thousands, of stories in the future for TheSportsRush.com, as well as interacting with readers.

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