Kyle Larson’s crew chief breaks down how Shane van Gisbergen’s “game-changer” incident ruined the Iowa race

In a video posted on social media, Kyle Larson’s crew chief, Cliff Daniels, broke down the key moment that shifted the entire race at Iowa Speedway. The focus was on how Shane van Gisbergen’s late-race spin flipped the order and trapped strong cars, including Larson’s, behind slower traffic.

The video was shared on X by an account by the name of Demarious Smellit. It was captioned:

“Cliff Daniels explains how SVG spinning out ruined the race by putting all the slow cars up front and trapping all the good cars a lap down without the ability to pit for fresh tires.”

In the video, Cliff Daniels gives a clear and detailed account of the situation after Shane van Gisbergen’s spin. He explains how the incident triggered a caution that disrupted the pit cycle.

“Obviously that's a really, really big game changer,” he said.

“I would assume we're going to be lining up around the 17 lead lap. Everybody in front of us will have pitted for tires right here, everybody behind this will be on the same cycle that we are... So yeah, she's gonna be tough to get back up through there and we're going to grind it out from here to me,” Daniels added.

Van Gisbergen had already been dealing with issues earlier in the race, including brake problems and a spin that sent the rear of his Red Bull Chevrolet hard into the wall on lap 169. Despite repair efforts and briefly regaining the lead lap, his car remained too damaged to contend competitively.

Following that, a second spin after contact with Kyle Busch effectively sealed van Gisbergen’s fate, pushing him back off the lead lap. This particular incident led to the caution that Cliff Daniels referenced. Many faster cars, including Kyle Larson, had already pitted under green. With the field now bunched back up and no chance to pit again, those faster cars were shuffled to the back, while less competitive ones gained track position due to timing, not pace.

SVG eventually finished 31st, but his spin didn’t just cost him; it also upended the race for others. For Kyle Larson, who had been building momentum following a second-place finish at Indianapolis, it became hard to recover from the shake-up, as Daniels noted.

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Kyle Larson’s near miss with Chase Elliott added to chaotic Iowa outing

On the restart after Stage 2, Larson’s #5 Chevrolet made contact with teammate Chase Elliott’s #9. The two Hendrick Motorsports drivers were battling mid-pack when Elliott moved to the bottom of Turn 1 and Kyle Larson turned down late, resulting in contact that sent the latter sideways. Despite the scare, Larson managed to keep his car under control and on track.

NASCAR posted the clip of the incident on X. The caption read:

“How did (Kyle Larson) save that?!”

It wasn’t the first time the two drivers tangled that day. Earlier, Elliott had forced Larson toward the wall on another restart, allowing AJ Allmendinger to go three-wide on the inside.

Despite this, Kyle Larson and Elliott are already locked into the playoffs. With three race wins this season, Larson trails Elliott by 15 points in the regular-season standings. The two HMS drivers remain among the strongest contenders, but fortune clearly didn’t favor Larson at Iowa.