Shane did not indicate in any way that he left spaces intentionally. You are putting words in his mouth.
I believe he said there is no rule that says all 9 balls have to be frozen. To me that means that if he racks the balls as tight as he can and is satisfied with the rack he has given himself, he is allowed to then break the balls.
And if the gaps are always in the same places. What exactly would that be?
For the record, it's highly unlikely you could unintentionally leave the exact same gaps every rack.