Historic and prestigious, NASCAR’s journey to the hallowed grounds of Indianapolis guarantees a racing spectacle second only to the Daytona 500. Shifting from the revered oval to Indy’s road course in 2021, the 82-lap Verizon 200 Cup Series race treats the racing community to what can be aptly summed up as a wreck fest.

Back for a third run, the Verizon 200’s 2023 iteration was quite the flip compared to the 2022 season run. Devoid of multiple cautions, the Indy event was jam-packed with spin-outs and paint rubs, leading to a Joe Gibbs Racing driver being unhappy with Shane van Gisbergen.

Shane van Gisbergen flexed; Nate Ryan provides insights 

A champion in his own right, Shane van Gisbergen was quick to accept Denny Hamlin’s challenge of proving his mettle on an oval track. Claiming a 19th-place finish, the Kiwi’s first oval outing was a massive success. As a rite of passage of sorts, Trackhouse Racing owner Justin Marks also offered van Gisbergen the opportunity to compete at the Indianapolis Road Course. With NASCAR being nothing short of a contact sport, the Kiwi had experienced his fair share of bumps and taps at Chicago but didn’t dish out the same to fellow drivers. Earlier, apprehensive of putting the bumper on the competition, Indianapolis saw Shane van Gisbergen don a different avatar.

While Joey Logano’s tango with Justin Haley on Lap 2 of the Verizon 200 brought out the only caution of the race, NASCAR’s infamous spin-out saga didn’t stop there. During Lap 6, van Gisbergen crossed paths with JGR’s #54 driver, Ty Gibbs. Battling to pass each other, the Kiwi’s #91 Chevy made contact with the #54 Toyota, causing Ty Gibbs to spin out.

Revealing how Joe Gibbs’ grandson was left unhappy by the Kiwi’s actions, Nate Ryan on the Motorsports on NBC podcast said, “It seemed like he got used up a few times you know, once in particular by Alex Bowman, but he also, SVG also flexed his muscles a little bit. Maybe unintentionally, but Ty Gibbs wasn’t very happy with him. I mean, it seemed like he gave, as well as he got a little bit and hung in there.”

Not giving the incident with Ty Gibbs much thought, the Kiwi then proceeded to add another feather to his cap.

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Despite failing to match up to his Chicago performance, Shane van Gisbergen claimed another record as he drove to a 10th-place finish at the Indy road course. But why would a 10th-place finish be special? With the Verizon 200 being his second run in NASCAR’s Cup Series, van Gisbergen became the only driver to achieve two top-10 finishes in his first two races, a feat earlier achieved by Terry Labonte in 1978.

Enthralled by his win, the Kiwi said in a post-race interview with NBC, “Great to get another Top-10 for the Enhance Chevy, and Project 91. We had fun all weekend. Hopefully can come back and do it all again…The racing was fun. I really enjoyed it. All the battling when you go through a move on someone, they give you room. They expect it back. Really cool.”

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Yet to secure a full-time ride, can Shane van Gisbergen’s back-to-back top-10s appease Justin Marks enough to hire the Kiwi full-time?