If revenge is best served cold, Shane van Gisbergen just served it ice cold to Austin Hill at the Sonoma race. He snatched the win under Hill’s nose, and well, celebrated it! But before you deem SvG a villain, it’s crucial to know that it might be a clapback move by him. The drama and the thrill that was seen at Xfinity might just have a thriving rivalry brewing!

This rivalry and distaste between the two drivers didn’t start in the elevated 1.99-mile track of Sonoma. But it started in COTA. It was there that Austin Hill triggered SvG. Not only did the former lose out on the race win, but fans also called him a “villain” afterward. But the Kiwi driver, fresh into NASCAR Xfinity already has two wins and fan support versus a NASCAR regular and a villain–this is turning out more interesting than any other rivalry. So what exactly went down?

SvG celebrates back-to-back wins as Austin Hill watches from his rearview mirror!

Shane van Gisbergen was in great spirits. He just won the race in Portland last week and secured his entry to the playoffs. And going into the Xfinity race in Sonoma, he had a significant starting point as he aced the qualifying. But he had a challenge against affront–Ty Gibbs. Gibbs is a challenge. He is young, spirited, and well, he had speed the entire time and he led a lot of the laps.

Even though van Gisbergen did end up winning stage 1, Ty Gibbs was still at his tail, until he wasn’t. Call it SvG’s lucky stars or Ty Gibbs’s sheer bad luck because what happens next is a calamity for Gibbs. He had a poor pit stop with plenty of complications and he had to start from way behind on the line. But that was not what ended his day. His day ended when, after a restart, a herd of cars crashed together, and he was caught among them!

After this, SvG seemed like the winner on the run, but then, he had his old nemesis Austin Hill waiting affront. At the final restart, Hill was leading, and Gisbergen didn’t want to let go. Hence, he battled for the contention. He “doored” Hill a little and whilst the latter plummeted behind. He took home the victory. And shortly after the win, the Kaulig Racing driver celebrated by drifting beside the RCR driver!

After the race, SvG went ahead to say that they both had taken race wins from each other! While he is okay with what went down, the same cannot be said about Austin Hill, who was seen red with fury! Fans were quick to notice this.

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Fans chose Shane Van Gisbergen over Austin Hill! 

The Kiwi driver and Austin Hill seem to have a rivalry that’s starting to fire up. Much like Sam Mayer and Ty Gibbs, they too have beef that doesn’t seem to be resolving. And the celebration by Shane van Gisbergen was just giving more fire to the rivalry. One fan said, “dude is a top-tier troll oh my gosh it’s amazing.”

After the race, SvG pleaded the fifth commandment! When FOX asked him about the incident, he wouldn’t speak at all. One fan highlighted that and said, “Love that he wouldn’t speak a word against him. Terrified of SVG out of the car.”

Further, what happened in COTA, where Austin Hill killed both his and SvG’s chance to win the race, was really unnecessary. And it basically looked like Hill was bullying SvG on track. And fans applauded Shane van Gisbergen for doing what he did in Sonoma. A little bump is no revenge, but Austin Hill was upset and burning with fury. One fan said, “Sorry but drifting your entire victory lap while chasing the guy who gave you guff earlier is like the most rhinoceros-balled flex on record #XfinitySeries.” 

NASCAR fans love the drama, both off-track and on it! So a new rivalry brewing is always exciting for them. One fan commented, “SVG making Xfinity fun again!!!”

Another fan couldn’t help but admire the driver. And seems like many NASCAR fans have actually chosen sides and it’s not Austin Hill. The fan said, “Dudes trolling haha.”

But when did Hill’s villain arc start? Martinsville 2023 seems to be the place, though he had his moments before it. Remember how Hill and his teammate Sheldon Creed were fighting for a tough win at Martinsville? During the closing laps, both drivers made contact several times. What was the result of this? Neither of the two won and they also didn’t make it to the Playoffs. This was the moment when many fans turned against Hill.

What do you think about the blunt move by SvG? Was it fun for you too? Let us know!