NASCAR suspends Austin Hill, strips playoff points for intentional wreck
Officials determined that Hill, who drives for Richard Childress Racing in NASCAR's second-tier series, intentionally right-hooked Joe Gibbs Racing's Aric Almirola in the closing laps, sending him hard into the outside wall. Hill was docked five laps at the time for reckless driving, but NASCAR later said the incident warranted further review and possible additional penalties.
The yellow flag is out at @IMS following this incident involving multiple cars.@Aric_Almirola exited the No. 19 under his own power. pic.twitter.com/tOaYGsLFJw
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) July 26, 2025
Hill, a championship favorite whose three wins tie him for second most this season, will miss Saturday's race at Iowa Speedway.
Because Hill was suspended, he will lose the 21 regular-season playoff points he has already accumulated, plus any additional playoff points he earns in the remaining four regular-season races he competes in.
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RCR will not appeal the penalty. Austin Dillon, team owner Richard Childress' grandson, will replace Hill at Iowa.
Hill retaliated against Almirola after Almirola made contact with Hill's rear bumper, causing the RCR driver to slide up the track. Hill then turned left, striking Almirola's right-rear corner, which sent Almirola crashing head-on into the outside wall. Almirola was uninjured but described the wreck as 'one of the hardest hits I've taken in my NASCAR career' and said he believed Hill intentionally hit him.
'I didn't feel what he did was necessary,' Almirola said. 'I felt like he could have easily fell back in line. He was damaged anyway. We were losing time to the leaders. It wasn't like we were on pace with them. He was holding me up clearly.
'It's just unfortunate. He obviously lost his mind right there. That was really bad judgment in my opinion.'
Childress vehemently defended his driver after the race, saying Hill did not deserve a suspension. He pointed to an incident earlier this season in which Austin Cindric was penalized — but not suspended — for right-hooking Ty Dillon during a Cup Series race at Circuit of the Americas. Ty Dillon is also Childress' grandson.
'Hell, no. They didn't do a damn thing to (Cindric) when he wrecked Ty (Dillon) and admitted to it — drove him in the right rear and wrecked him at COTA,' Childress said. 'It's who you are. We're a blue-collar team; (NASCAR) gives us trouble all the time.'
NASCAR typically penalizes drivers for the dangerous act of intentionally hitting a competitor in the right-rear and causing a crash, though suspensions are not always issued and depend on the circumstances. Bubba Wallace in 2022 and Chase Elliott in 2023 are two recent examples of drivers who were suspended for right-hooking another competitor.
In the cases of Wallace, Elliott and, now Hill, the incidents all occurred on high-speed ovals. The Cindric-Dillon incident, by contrast, took place on a road course at a lower speed.
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