Austin Hill Suspended for Intentional Crash at Indianapolis
NASCAR has suspended Austin Hill for one Xfinity Series race due to an incident at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The penalty comes after intentional contact with Aric Almirola during the competition.
Richard Childress Racing has confirmed that Cup driver Austin Dillon will replace Hill in this weekend’s Xfinity Series race in Iowa.
In addition to the suspension, Hill will lose the 21 playoff points he had accumulated in 2025. He is also prohibited from scoring points before the playoffs under a new rule implemented before the start of the 2025 season. To maintain his playoff eligibility, Hill must request a waiver.
Before the suspension, Hill was in a prominent position in the playoff points standings, only behind Connor Zilisch and Justin Allgaier.
Currently, Hill is seventh in the Xfinity Series standings, with three wins. He is likely to lose positions in the standings due to the suspension. Only the top 12 ranked drivers advance to the Xfinity playoffs.
Hill argued that the contact with Almirola on Saturday was not intentional, but NASCAR imposed a five-lap penalty on him. After being informed of the penalty, Hill reacted with a strong expression.
The incident occurred when both drivers were in the top five at Indy. Almirola made contact to take Hill off the track. Hill corrected his car and then turned left to hit Almirola in the right rear.
Almirola spun and crashed into the outside wall. Hill finished in 34th place, five laps down, while Almirola finished in 35th place.
