Dale Earnhardt Jr. questions whether Shane van Gisbergen misspoke during post-race interview

Dale Earnhardt Jr. believes Shane van Gisbergen misspoke during his post-race interview after being wrecked in last weekend’s Chicago Street Race.

While van Gisbergen captured the win at the track in 2023 under the Trackhouse Racing banner, he was racing for Kaulig over the weekend, as part of a deal between the two teams due to Trackhouse’s lack of an extra charter. However, van Gisbergen might’ve let a secret out of the bag while speaking with NBC.

“SVG gets crashed out. … Briscoe comes flying through the frame, right? Slams into the wall. … You see him clip SVG, and SVG goes sliding out of the frame, and then like a couple of moments later they’re like, ‘Oh, the No. 16 car is parked. Oh wow, the No. 16 car is tore up. Oh hey, he’s part of this crash.’ That was pretty dramatic. SVG, and one of the things that I caught — okay, so it’s one thing that he crashed out of the race, that’s a story,” Earnhardt Jr. explained, via the Dale Jr. Download. “But one of the things that I caught is he gets out and he goes, ‘Trackhouse had us a good car.’ Did you hear that? I’m like, ‘Wait a minute man, that didn’t look like a Trackhouse car.’ What are those boys doing? You know that dang car has never been in Kaulig’s garage.”

As you can tell, Earnhardt Jr.’s ears perked up when he heard van Gisbergen mention Trackhouse prepared his car on Sunday. While it’s more of an open secret that Trackhouse, not Kaulig, was behind van Gisbergen’s effort to compete in Chicago, it still was a bit of a slip of the tongue from the New Zealander.

Regardless, van Gisbergen’s disappointment was palpable during his interview, even if he had his trademark smile on while speaking with the media. If he didn’t wreck, Earnhardt Jr. believes it would’ve been another fruitful afternoon: “Top 3. He wins, second, third. Something like that.”

At least Shane van Gisbergen left Chicago with another trophy, as he won the Xfinity Series event at the track on Saturday. Still, falling short on Sunday will stick in his craw, as NASCAR fans around the globe were denied a chance to watch a master at work in the Windy City.

More on Shane van Gisbergen’s NASCAR future

Of course, Shane van Gisbergen is currently in his first season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, but could he make the jump to the Cup Series full-time in 2025? 

Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports addressed van Gisbergen’s future earlier this week, and said he would lean toward the New Zealand native getting the nod to drive a third Trackhouse Racing car next season over Zane Smith, who is also under contract with the race team. 

Trackhouse currently operates as a two-car race team, with Ross Chastain in the No. 1 and Daniel Suarez in the No. 99. The team is expected to acquire one of Stewart-Haas Racing’s charters, meaning one of van Gisbergen or Smith will be left out. 

van Gisbergen has impressed on road courses in the Xfinity Series this season, winning at Portland, Sonoma and Chicago. He also won in his Cup Series debut in the inaugural Chicago Street Race last season.

His performance on ovals has been a mixed bag, something van Gisbergen is working to improve on. He’s gotten two starts on ovals in the Cup Series this season, finishing 28th at Talladega and Charlotte.

On3’s Nick Geddes contributed to this article.