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By Saajan Jogia
Sports Contributing Writer
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NASCAR has some relief for Xfinity Series driver Austin Hill following the race penalty suspension he served at Iowa last weekend for taking out Aric Almirola at Indianapolis. That meant he was out of the playoffs, since they require drivers to participate in all races. However, Hill has been pardoned by the sport, which makes him eligible for the playoffs.
Hill was involved in a big controversy during the Xfinity race at Indianapolis, where he deliberately rear-right hooked Almirola in an act of retaliation. He was handed a five-lap penalty during the race. However, NASCAR handed him a one-race suspension later in the week, which kept him out of the race at Iowa.
Hill had 21 playoff points. However, given the race suspension, he has lost all his points. Although the sport's waiver means he is eligible for the playoffs, he will not get back the points he collected through the season. Additionally, the playoff points that Hill scores up to the finale in September will not be counted.
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Hill's team, Richard Childress Racing, released a statement after he was handed the suspension, confirming that it will not appeal the penalty. The statement read:
"Richard Childress Racing will not appeal the penalty NASCAR issued to the No. 21 team following the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. We remain focused on winning a championship with Austin Hill in 2025. Austin Dillon will race the No. 21 Chevrolet at Iowa Speedway."
The Athletic's Jordan Bianchi said that while the suspension has a serious impact on Hill's championship prospects, the penalty was much deserved. He said in a Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Dirty Mo Media video:
"It's gonna be tough for Austin Hill in the playoffs, a championship favorite. He's got three wins this year [and] he's currently ranked fifth in points. Now, he'll get a waiver to make the playoffs and that's fine, but his road to the Championship 4 is much harder now than it would have been before Saturday's incident.
"... This was a justified penalty. NASCAR got this one right. The caveat, of course, is the playoff points. NASCAR added that rule this year, and so that's really going to hit Austin Hill in the playoffs. You work all year during the regular season to get to bonus points that help you through each round. As we've seen many times, those can be the big difference between advancing and being eliminated. Austin Hill is not going to have those to fall back on. This has championship implications but again, when you look at what happened, this was a deserved penalty for Austin Hill."
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