In his 19th Xfinity start at Pocono Raceway, Shane van Gisbergen was spun by Sam Mayer while running in the top 10. This resulted in a frustrating race for the Kiwi driver. Although van Gisbergen didn’t believe the spin was intentional, it was a problem for the driver. What really threw him off was a second spin on lap 88 of 90, relegating him to 31st place and making him the last car on the lead lap. While Gisbergen was fighting for the top 10, this incident took him out of the competition.

SVG had shown strong performance throughout the season, with three wins and multiple top-5 and top-10 finishes. His qualifying lap time of 55.460 seconds placed him in the 26th position, but strategic decisions and tire management allowed him to climb through the ranks during the Pocono race.

Taking advantage of a caution on lap 71 to move up to 17th, he eventually reached as high as eighth place in the final stages. However, it was soon after that Gisbergen came forward to share his experience with the race. FrontStretch interviewed Gisbergen, and when they asked him, “You’re running in the top 10, you’re up to ninth with ten to go, then the one got in the back of you. I heard his spotter apologize, but just how disappointing is that?”

The Kaulig Racing driver replied, saying, “Yeah, it’s gutting, man. We’re getting better and better on these ovals. Third stage: I seem to be getting better, and we made a bit of a good call there on strategy. We were on pretty good tires, but we had speed as well.”

While Gisbergen had an important message to share while saying, “Then, yeah, I just got run over by Sam. I’m sure he didn’t mean it, but it’s gutting. And then, in the end, some wobbler just took me out again for the 83rd, so that sucked. But we had a good WeatherTech Camaro here. It’s just a shame we don’t have a top 10,” he said with a smile on his face.

And, as intended, when the word “wobbler” was used, it caught the attention of hundreds of fans, who started to find their way into the comments section on Reddit.

“Wobbler” throws off Shane van Gisbergen’s fans

The Kiwi has adapted well to American culture and is chasing his dreams. Yet sometimes, he slips up and uses words that his American fans might not be aware of. And that is exactly what happened when he used the term ‘wobbler’. Initially, many couldn’t understand SVG’s sentiment behind it, but it looks like they eventually got it.

A fan, who was evidently fascinated by the driver’s choice of words, wrote: “Idk, man, being called a wobbler is way worse than being called a dumba*s, lol.” Not every day you get to hear someone call another a “wobbler,” and as SVG expressed himself, fans were thoroughly amused by the vocabulary. However, he wasn’t the only driver who faced an issue while racing. Allmendinger was also spun out of the top ten at Turn 1 on the Lap 51 restart.

SVG finished 31st at the chequered flag. But who won the 90-lapper? Well, it was Cole Cluster. He effectively stayed ahead of Justin Allgaier and William Byron on the final restart.

Further, quickly taking to SVG’s personality and humor, one even dropped a comment saying, “Idk what his reputation, demeanor, etc. was over in Supercars…but f*ck man, I don’t know how you can’t like SVG in NASCAR. Dude is so f*cking likeable, not to mention hilarious.”

To add to SVG’s achievements before entering NASCAR, he is one of the only two drivers to have won all three major car racing events at Mount Panorama: the Bathurst 1000, Bathurst 6 Hour, and Bathurst 12 Hour. But now it seems his vocabulary is attracting all the attention.

The term “wobbler” gained so much traction that one even suggested signing a “Petition to call all backmarkers, Wobblers, from now on.” This playful proposal indicates how SVG’s slang resonated with NASCAR fans.

Additionally, hailing from New Zealand, Gisbergen has an accent and hence one fan stated, “Lmao, I love how Australians and British people are all speaking the same language as us, but sometimes I have no f*cking clue what they mean. I love this word for drunk drivers, though.” This comment underscores the joy fans find in the diversity of expressions within the sport.

Shane van Gisbergen had a difficult race, and he ended up finishing at the back. However, he was still in high spirits after the race, and that’s something many find pleasant. A user even expressed, “I can officially say that I am an SVG fan. The dude has a huge smile on his face even after getting spun out of the top 10 and then getting spun for 30th right after. I just love how happy he is to be in NASCAR. SVG is a legend.”

What do you think of SVG using the term wobbler? Did it catch your attention like it did for these fans? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.