The second serious crash of Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series Mission 200 at The Glen transpired on Lap 74. NASCAR Cup Series regular Michael McDowell took by far the hardest shot of anyone in the crash, which was triggered by contact between McDowell and Austin Hill on the exit of Turn 5.
As McDowell ran wide off of Turn 5, Hill attempted to get up alongside the left side of McDowell in a battle for the runner-up position. Hill didn’t have enough momentum and attempted to tuck in behind McDowell, but made a misjudgment trying to slip in behind McDowell, and caught the left rear quarterpanel of McDowell’s No. 11 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet.
BIG crash with Michael McDowell getting the worst of it. pic.twitter.com/Qbd0Krqu8o
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The contact sent McDowell hard into the left-side guardrail. McDowell would then careen back across the track and slam hard into the right-side guardrail. McDowell’s car lifted off the ground as he impacted the barrier, and the guardrail sheared off the right front tire of McDowell’s car.
The tire flew across the track and destroyed the front end of William Sawalich’s No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, and from there, and plethora of cars piled into the carnage.
Fortunately, everyone was able to walk away from the crash. After being evaluated and released from the infield care center, McDowell said that he felt Hill, who was coming off a suspension last weekend due to crashing Aric Almirola at Indianapolis a few weeks ago, raced him harder than was necessary. McDowell felt like Hill kept trying to move him out of the way.
“I didn’t rough up the [Hill] at all, I didn’t feel like,” McDowell explained. “But it just kind of felt like he kept trying to move me there in the carousel, and then there, I could see there he was never going to get alongside me, there. I was all the way out. He wasn’t even alongside; he just turned me. It’s unfortunate.”
Those involved in the crash included Hill, McDowell, Sawalich, Taylor Gray, Ryan Sieg, Jesse Love, Josh Bilicki, Kyle Sieg, Jeb Burton, and Ryan Ellis.
