Rookie Ty Gibbs entered Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Indianapolis perilously close to the playoff cutline, just three points clear of Michael McDowell for the 16th and final postseason spot with three races remaining in the regular season. After a 12th-place finish dropped him to 18th in the standings and effectively ended any chances of making the playoffs on points, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver was unhappy with his day and directed that anger at Shane van Gisbergen.
The relationship between the rookie and New Zealander, competing in his second Cup race after shocking the NASCAR world and winning his debut on the streets of Chicago in July, got off to a rocky start early in the race. How early? How about the first turn on the first lap.
After clearing the modified restart zone in turn 13, van Gisbergen, who started eighth, moved to the inside on the front stretch and made it three-wide, heading into the right-handed first turn with Christopher Bell in the middle and Gibbs on the outside. The Kiwi got loose going over the curb, and his No. 91 car slipped out wide, making contact with the No. 20, which then got into the side of the No. 54.
All three cars cleared the turn without further incident.
However, just five laps later, following what turned out to be the race’s one and only restart, it happened again in the same turn, except this time, the three-time Supercars champion didn’t miss the corner. Instead, the Trackhouse car was one of several victimized by Joey Logano.
The two-time and current Cup Series champion locked up his brakes and drove hard into the rear of Penske teammate Ryan Blaney, which set off a chain reaction, with the No. 12 driving into Martin Truex Jr., who then got into van Gisbergen, with the Project 91 car finishing it off by driving into the rear of Gibbs and sending him for a spin.