Van Gisbergen started from pole position and had elected to give up stage points to put himself in the best spot to score the win at Naval Base Coronado.
SVG restarted third on Lap 32 behind Richard Childress Racing driver Austin Hill, who bowled well wide of the Turn 1 apex and sandwiched Trackhouse Racing’s second-placed Connor Zilisch into the wall.
With the top two drivers in the wall and scrubbing off speed rapidly, van Gisbergen was left with nowhere to go and ploughed into the back of Hill before spinning.
Van Gisbergen’s car was damaged beyond repair, and the same was true for Hill and Zilisch who retired from the race.
Speaking after being released from the on-site care centre, van Gisbergen bemoaned a missed opportunity.
“A real shame. The Red Bull Chevy was really fast once the track rubbered up. A real shame,” he said.
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When it came time to talk about the incident, van Gisbergen offered a series of short answers.
Quizzed on what started the incident, he said, “Ask the next guys.”
Quizzed on whether it was a racing incident, he replied, “It’s just unfortunate.”
And finally, when quizzed on how disappointed he was, he answered, “I’m filthy.”
Zilisch, meanwhile, lay the blame squarely on Hill in his post-mortem.
“He was pretty far from the wall and didn’t give me any space,” Zilisch explained.
“I wouldn’t call it aggressive, I’d call it a little more egregious than that. That’s how it goes sometimes.
“It was a big hit. Concrete walls are no joke, but I’m thankful for the safety of these cars and how far we’ve come as an industry. It’s rare you feel fine after a wreck, and that’s the case today.
“It’s unfortunate for us. Our car was really fast today – both Shane and I collectively.
“It stings. When you have a chance to go and win a race and you’re in a prime spot and you get put in a position like that, it’s extremely tough.
“I really hate it for everyone at Trackhouse, Red Bull. This was a huge weekend for us and to have both cars out is really unfortunate.”
At the time of publication, Hill had not spoken to the present media. However, he admitted fault over the radio in the immediate aftermath.
“Sorry guys,” he said.
“Locked up the rear brakes. I think the left rear is pretty destroyed.”
Having elected not to take any Stage 1 points, van Gisbergen is poised to drop below the cut line.
He will have an opportunity to rebound at Sonoma in a week but stood to put himself well above the cut line with a strong showing in San Diego.
“Luckily we’ve got a good next week, but unfortunately we’ll be in group one (qualifying) again which makes it tougher,” said van Gisbergen.
“Just got to go and execute.”
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