Austin Hill, who intentionally retaliated against Aric Almirola in last weekend’s NASCAR Xfinity Series Pennzoil 250 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, has been suspended for this weekend’s HyVee Perks 250 at Iowa Speedway.
NASCAR announced the one-race suspension of Hill in its weekly penalty report, which dropped on Tuesday evening. Officially, Hill was found to be in violation of sections 4.3.A and 4.4.B & D of the NASCAR Member Code of Conduct.
Richard Childress Racing has stated that they will not appeal the penalty assessed to Austin Hill, and that Austin Dillon, the driver of the team’s No. 3 NASCAR Cup Series entry, will fill in for Hill this weekend at Iowa Speedway.
“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,” the team said in a statement.
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… pic.twitter.com/muTTd8SJrZ— RCR (@RCRracing) July 29, 2025
While they will not appeal, Richard Childress Racing will likely seek a Playoff Waiver for Hill, who has three victories this season, but per new NASCAR rules instituted in the offseason, if NASCAR grants the Waiver to allow Hill to continue to battle for a championship, the driver will lose all earned Playoff Points (Hill had earned 21 Playoff Points) and any future Playoff Points.
This means when the Playoffs begin, Hill will be the final driver in the Playoff Grid, and the same will be the case in each round of the Playoffs.
What did Hill do to deserve the one-race suspension?
With 10 laps remaining in last Saturday’s race, Hill got loose as Aric Almirola packed air on the rear of his No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet in Turn 3. This allowed Almirola to work to the inside of Hill in an attempt to take over the fourth position.
As Hill regained control of his No. 21 Chevrolet, he then turned hard left into the right-rear quarterpanel of Almirola’s No. 19 Toyota. The contact from Hill sent Almirola head-first into the outside wall in Turn 4. Almirola slammed into a portion of the wall that was not protected by SAFER Barriers.
Yeah, that’s probably gonna be a forced vacation for Austin Hill. Pretty egregious looking, and at a track like Indy, that’s a very dangerous move. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/0dXYuVbHYE
— Toby Christie (@Toby_Christie) July 26, 2025
The 41-year-old Almirola called the impact one of the hardest hits in his lengthy NASCAR National Series career.
The contact was so egregious that NASCAR officials parked Hill for five laps during the race for reckless driving.
NASCAR Hands Out Suspensions to No. 43 LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Pit Crew Members
Also included in the weekly NASCAR Penalty Report was the two-race suspension for a pair of pit crew members on the No. 43 LEGACY MOTOR CLUB team.
Erik Jones suffered a separation of his right front wheel late in last Sunday’s Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
There's more trouble!
This time it's the No. 43! pic.twitter.com/1kadxc1DZg
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 27, 2025
That wheel separation put the No. 43 pit crew in violation of Sections 8.8.10.4.C of the NASCAR Cup Series Rule Book.
As a result, Kellen Mills (Jack) and John Rosselli (Front Changer) will be suspended from the next two NASCAR Cup Series events, beginning with Sunday’s Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol.
