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Aric Almirola’s Team Calls For Austin Hill To Be Suspended At Least One Week After Wrecking Him At Indianapolis

July 27, 2025  ·
  John Trent

Aric Almirola’s team called for Austin Hill to be suspended at least one week after Hill wrecked him in the closing laps of the NASCAR Xfinity race at Indianapolis this evening.

With nine laps left in the race, Almirola got a really good run and got right to the back of Hill coming out of turn 3. Hill put on a world class piece of driving by saving and straightening the car out. However, he then appeared to turn down into Almirola in retaliation and made contact with his right rear. Almirola went nose first into the outside wall while Hill spun down into the infield and then back across the track and into the outside wall.

Following the wreck, NASCAR penalized Hill five laps for reckless driving.

As reported by Frontstetch’s Dalton Hopkins, Almirola’s team said over the radio that Hill should be suspended at least a race. He said, “If NASCAR is setting a precedent, the 21 shouldn’t be racing next week!”

Speaking to The CW after being cleared from the infield car center, Almirola said, “It was definitely intentional. He had blocked me three times. I finally got him loose in three. He had damage on the nose so he was really slow in the corners and it was time to go. We were coming to 10 laps to go or 9 laps to go and the leaders are starting to put a gap on us so it’s time to go. I got him loose and yeah he just turned left and hooked me in the right rears.”

“Honestly, one of the biggest hits in my entire NASCAR career. Very reminiscent of the hit I took when I broke my back. So glad I’m okay. Thankful to everyone back in the shop at Joe Gibbs racing for building amazing race cars and making them safe,” he added.

“Disappointed. I felt like we had a shot to win. I have so much fun every time we run these cars. We have great race cars and I love doing it. It’s just unfortunate that guys like that-. Especially that guy. He stood up in front of a meeting at Martinsville and said he was going to be a role model for all the young kids to look up to and racing etiquette. And I think that’s kind of laughable after that one.”

He also told NBC Sports Dustin Long, “That’s just uncalled for. I got him a little bit loose to get him under him because it was time to go. I would have never done that 5 laps into the race, but when you’re coming down to the end of the race at Indianapolis and he’s already blocked him three times. I certainly got him loose, but I didn’t feel like that was, what he did was necessary. I felt like he could have easily fell back in line. He was damaged anyways. We were losing times to the leaders. So it wasn’t like we were on pace with them. He was holding me up, clearly. So it’s just unfortunate that he obviously lost his mind right there. That was really bad judgement in my opinion. I’m sure NASCAR will look at it.”

When asked if Hill should be suspended, he added, “I don’t know. NASCAR will look at it. That’s been the case for a lot of other calls like that especially at a place like this: 90° corners where were going 180 mph. That was really violent.”

After being penalized, Hill reacted saying, “They can go f**k themselves. F**k NASCAR. That is f***ing bullshit. I’m f***ing sideways. I go to correct it back to the left. It gets locked to the left. I f***ing run into the 19.”

Hill’s car owner Richard Childress does not believe that he should be suspended telling Long, “Hell no! They didn’t do a damn thing to the 2 car when he wrecked Ty and admitted to it. Drove him in the right rear and wrecked him at COTA. It’s who you are. We’re a blue collar team. They give us trouble all the time.”

To be clear, Childress is referring to Austin Cindric spinning out Ty Dillon at COTA. NASCAR fined Cindric $50,000 and docked him 50 driver points. However, they did not suspend him.

NASCAR Sirius XM Radio host Kelly Crandall has reported that “NASCAR will review further the incident between Austin Hill and Aric Almirola. So, the five-lap penalty is not a closed door on any further action from NASCAR.”

What do you make of Almirola wanting Hill suspended?

NEXT: Report: Fired Spotter Tab Boyd Gets New Job At Joe Gibbs Racing With Christopher Bell

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Author: John Trent