Broadcaster TNT Sports captured the moment SVG fiddled with his wheel before parking on the grass verge momentarily.
NASCAR legend Jimmie Johnson called the pre-race incident a “spicy moment” for the Trackhouse Racing driver.
“Drivers are funny. If our steering wheel is off a quarter turn, we want to fix it,” said Johnson.
“Evidently, he left pit road early in the race to start the race and didn’t have it in the right spot.
“He’s taking another shot at it here, gets it wrong, he’s messing with it – and oh, hello grass.
“It was well-planned. It was on the apron as well as he was trying to get up to speed.
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“I’m sure his heart rate went up a little bit.”
“Oh! Hello grass!” 😅@JimmieJohnson breaks down SVG trying to fix his steering wheel WHILE DRIVING 😳 pic.twitter.com/muiXDShup7
— TNT Sports U.S. (@TNTSportsUS) July 26, 2026
Van Gisbergen went on to finish 16th at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, representing a nine-place gain on where he started.
A well-executed pit stop and a late incident involving Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney and the John Hunter Nemechek of Legacy Motor Club vaulted van Gisbergen to 16th late in the race.
“Strategy could have gone a little bit better,” said van Gisbergen.
“A couple of guys caught that lucky yellow that we were racing around and they jumped us.
“Otherwise, I thought we did a good job. I think we maximised 16th. Not great, but decent points day.”
The NASCAR Cup Series will take a one-week break before returning on August 10 (AEST) at Iowa Speedway.
“I love racing, so I’d race every week,” said van Gisbergen.
“[But] it will be nice to chill at home and not do much.”
Denny Hamlin leads the NASCAR Cup Series standings for Joe Gibbs Racing ahead of 23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick.
Van Gisbergen sits 57 points above the cut line for the Chase and just three points behind Bubba Wallace of 23XI Racing.
Team Penske’s Austin Cindric is the first driver above the cut at plus-38 points while RKF Racing’s Ryan Preece is on the outside looking in at minus-38 points.
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