Why Austin Hill will seemingly face extra penalties

Within the closing laps of the NASCAR Xfinity Sequence race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Aric Almirola was making an attempt to take fourth place away from Austin Hill, in the end making some contact with the Richard Childress Racing driver.

Hill managed to save lots of the automobile, however he then appeared to abruptly flip again down the observe, hooking Almirola’s Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota straight into the skin wall. Almirola impacted a bit of the wall that’s not protected by SAFER Barrier practically head-on, however fortunately walked away with out damage. 

NASCAR held Hill for 5 laps for “reckless driving,” and he was livid over the radio. Hill denied that the transfer was intentional, claiming he was nonetheless making an attempt to assemble up the automobile. He additionally threw a number of expletives on the sanctioning physique, which actually did not assist his case.

Will Hill be suspended?

However what precisely would possibly occur subsequent? NASCAR has just a few choices, however latest historical past has set a precedent that incidents like this (intentional right-rear hooks at high-speed tracks) normally solely finish a technique — a one-week suspension for the driving force.

NASCAR selected to droop Bubba Wallace in 2022 and Chase Elliott in 2023 for comparable incidents. Nevertheless, additionally they selected to not droop Austin Cindric for right-hooking Ty Dillon at COTA earlier this yr. He was docked 50 factors and fined $50,000 as an alternative. There have been two essential parts on this choice: The incident didn’t end in a warning, nor was the injury vital as a result of low charge of velocity.

Neither of those elements exist within the Hill/Almirola run-in, which doesn’t bode effectively for Hill. However there’s something else to contemplate…

The brand new playoff waiver guidelines

In 2025, a suspension can be much more impactful as a result of new playoff waiver guidelines applied forward of the brand new season. Ought to a driver miss a race as a result of a suspension, they’ll stay eligible for the playoffs by way of a waiver, however will lose all of their playoff bonus factors and forfeit any future playoff factors they acquire main as much as the playoffs.

All indicators appear to level to a one-week suspension for Hill, however the brand new playoff waiver guidelines might sway them in the direction of a factors penalty and a wonderful. Nevertheless, the incident seems to be loads extreme sufficient to warrant a pressured trip, whatever the new waiver coverage. His radio communication can also play an element, as NASCAR doesn’t tolerate being spoken to in such a means. Kyle Busch as soon as determined to flip off a NASCAR official whereas serving a penalty he disagreed with, which resulted in further in-race penalties for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Hill is already locked into the NASCAR Xfinity playoffs by way of three race wins, and he presently holds 21 playoff factors. He is additionally fifth within the common season standings, which brings with it extra bonus factors as soon as the playoffs start. However it doesn’t matter what choice NASCAR makes this week, taking no motion is extraordinarily unlikely, and the punishment is more likely to adversely impression his title hopes in some type.