Shane van Gisbergen produced a solid run at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, bettering his previous-best result in the Brickyard 400 with a 16th-place finish. Last year, he finished 19th in this race.
One unusual moment during the race’s first caution left both his spotter and crew chief confused.
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Van Gisbergen was among a handful of drivers to pit during the first caution period, and while exiting pit road, he attempted to adjust his steering wheel. He removed the wheel while traveling along the apron, but the car began drifting towards the infield grass as he attempted to adjust it.
Van Gisbergen had to hit the brakes and come to a stop at the edge of the grass. He quickly got moving again, drove through the grass and rejoined without losing significant time.
His spotter, Josh Williams, asked over the radio, “You good?” Van Gisbergen replied: “I’ve been better.”
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Unsure what happened at the time, Williams and crew chief Stephen Doran switched to another channel and speculated about why Van Gisbergen had stopped, initially wondering whether he had dropped his drinks bottle. The onboard footage later revealed that Van Gisbergen had momentarily been driving without the steering wheel attached, which you can see here:
Van Gisbergen leaves Indianapolis 15th in the championship standings, but he gained a little bit more ground on the cut-line, now +57 points above with four races left in the regular season.
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