Hearing in-race NASCAR radio messages bleeped out is nothing new. It generally happens multiple times per race, and unlike in Formula 1, where drivers operate under the threat of losing world championship points for using naughty words, that is not the case in NASCAR.
Which is why nobody saw coming what Shane van Gisbergen said after issuing a profanity-laced message to his team during Sunday's Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.
He actually apologized for the frustration-inspired rant.
SVG apologizes for swearing during Southern 500
NASCAR fans, and even the USA Network broadcast booth of Leigh Diffey, Jeff Burton, and Steve Letarte, got a kick out of it, considering just how uncommon it is for a driver to not only regret using that kind of language, but to actually walk it back by issuing a direct apology to his team.
SVG apologizing for language is a top 5 radio moment of the year in my books😂
— Auto Racing Analytics (@AR_Analytics) August 31, 2025
Drivers getting caught up in the heat of the moment and forcing bleeped-out messages is far from uncommon, but a driver following it up with an immediate apology certainly is.
The good news for van Gisbergen is that, even after a 32nd place finish on a day when it seemed like all of the No. 88 Trackhouse Racing team's pit strategy calls backfired, he is still above the round of 12 cut line.
The bad news is that he dropped several positions in the standings and is much closer than he was to start the round of 16, and he still has to survive two more oval races, races in which he has not shown much potential to run well this year.
Should he survive the cutline in the upcoming round of 16 races at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway and Bristol Motor Speedway, however, a lot of fans will likely pick him to advance to the round of 8, given the presence of a road course race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval on the round of 12 schedule.
Van Gisbergen has won each of the four most recent non-oval races.
This weekend's race is the Enjoy Illinois 300. It is set to be shown live on USA Network from World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET. Begin a free trial of FuboTV and don't miss it!