Near the end of the Penzoil 250 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, Aric Almirola and Austin Hill were involved in a crash that resulted in Almirola having a hard crash in the Joe Gibbs Racing number 19 car – one he said was as hard as the one where he broke his back. As a result of that incident, NASCAR officials parked Austin Hill and his number 21 Richard Childress Racing car for five laps for reckless driving.
On Tuesday, NASACR has suspended Austin Hill for one race. As a result, he will miss the race at Iowa Speedway on Saturday.
On lap 91, Almirola “nudged” Hill that sent the car into a slide; one Hill recovered; Hill then hit Almirola on the right rear fender, sending Almirola into the wall.
Almirola called the retaliatory his “definitely intentional” and NASCAR agreed and held Hill on pit road for five laps.
In the radio transmission with his crew after the incident, Hill told his team that the original hit resulted in his struggling to control the car; resulting in the hit to Almirola.
According to the NASCAR rulebook, Hill and Richard Childress Racing can apply for a waiver in order to compete in the playoffs – Hill has three wins this season – but he will have to forfeit his 21 playoff points and will not be able to earn anymore during the regular season.
In other penalty news, NASCAR has issued a two race suspension to two crew members of the Legacy Motor Club number 43 team. During the Brickyard 400, Erik Jones lost a wheel during the race; causing him to crash and bring out the caution flag. As a result, jackman Kellen Mills and front tire changer John Rosselli have been suspended for the next two races.