Livid Kyle Petty Brutally Slams Richard Childress’ “Punk” Driver as He Acquits Shane van Gisbergen in Sonoma Controversy

Oh, the Sonoma controversy! Because of it, people see a NASCAR champion in Shane van Gisbergen. In his rookie year alone, where he is driving the No. 97 Chevrolet Camaro for Kaulig Racing in partnership with Trackhouse Racing, SVG started strong with a podium finish at Atlanta. Then followed a drab streak with a lone top-ten finish at Phoenix. And very recently, the Kiwi driver once again stunned fans with back-to-back trophies in Portland and Sonoma. However, in the latter race, he had some on-track beef in store for him.

After earning his first pole spot, van Gisbergen led a NASCAR career-best 32 out of 79 laps for Kauling Racing. Towards the end, he encountered his rival from COTA, Austin Hill, and the two engaged in a sideways battle. Van Gisbergen emerged unscathed, and his opponent clenched his teeth. Yet NASCAR veteran Kyle Petty strongly sided with the Supercars champ.

Shane van Gisbergen gets the green light!

Back in March, a double overtime restart at the Circuit of The Americas witnessed an on-track duel. RCR driver Austin Hill shoved Shane van Gisbergen initially to snatch the lead. But the Kiwi racer got back to his heels on the final lap before Kyle Larson ousted both. This time at Sonoma Raceway, van Gisbergen got his revenge.

With 11 laps to go at the Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 250 race, Hill chose the left lane sweeping turn 1 and did not leave much room. So Shane van Gisbergen collided with Hill and scooped up the lead. As reported by NASCAR on YouTube, veteran Kyle Petty explained how the incident occurred. He said, “You opened up the door. You had control of the race when you took that green flag; you gave that little bit of extra room.”

After the race, Hill was evidently miffed, as he could only score a P5 finish. Two wins this season, and the RCR driver seems to have finally met his match. Kyle Petty loved this and hailed van Gisbergen’s vengeful tactics that helped him soar to victory. He said, “Let me tell you something. SVG’s got a little bit of a redneck in. He took that opening, the door slammed him, sent him out of the way, and went on to victory. That’s not SVG’s fault…You open a door, that’s what a driver’s supposed to do: drive through it.”

After the COTA incident, Kyle Petty also opined that SVG’s actions were correct. He also labeled Austin Hill for his aggressive mood. “What we have here in Austin Hill, I think, is a little bit of a punk, a little bit of a guy with an attitude, and a little bit of a bully.”

Well, he might not be wrong here. Remember Martinsville 2023? Hill and his teammate Sheldon Creed were fighting for a win there. But what took place? They made contact several times during the closing laps, both drivers made contact several times. This resulted in neither of them making it to the Playoffs. After this incident, many saw Hill as the villain.

Petty also curated a name for Hill, like SVG. “And I know we called Shane van Gisbergen SVG. So in the future, I want everybody out there to call Austin Hill ‘Austin Freaking Hill’.” His comments seemed to hold true as Austin Hill expressed his displeasure with SVG’s win with a unique gesture!

Austin Hill’s annoyance shines through…

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Like his Cup colleague in Richard Childress Racing, Austin Hill is also a ‘rowdy’ driver. Besides the two fallouts with SVG, he significantly engaged in some serious beef with Cole Custer. Hill intentionally wrecked Custer’s car further after on-track contact, getting a $25,000 fine slapped on him. But unlike Custer, Shane van Gisbergen actually saw through his revenge.

This tit-for-tat attitude invited some gestures from the Xfinity rival. While the former Supercars racer was showing off his dominance with a burnout, Austin Hill, in a moment of pure entertainment for fans, extended his hand out of the car’s window and congratulated the Sonoma victory by flipping him off!

Hill initially declined to comment on Shane van Gisbergen’s move in a post-race interview with FOX. But the three-time Supercars champion’s Cup Series rival, Denny Hamlin, dissected the post-race celebration, saying, “It’s good for Shane and all. We didn’t need proof that he was good on road courses and certainly in the Xfinity Series, but he’s fun to watch. He’s got great technique and great car control and to watch him do that burnout right behind Austin — he clearly gives no f**ks, that is for sure.”

Evidently, the sweet-natured attitude veils a fiery driving attitude within Shane van Gisbergen. This may be all he needs to pave a glittering career in NASCAR. What do you think?