NASCAR driver facing race BAN after Indianapolis incident

A NASCAR driver is facing a potential race ban after an incident at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend.

NASCAR officials deemed Austin Hill to have driven recklessly at IMS on Saturday night, with the Richard Childress Racing driver having been held for five laps as punishment during the Pennzoil 250.

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The incident Hill was punished for came on lap 91 of the Xfinity Series race when he was battling Aric Almirola for fourth position. Almirola was following Hill, but caused the No. 21 to get loose in turn three, with Hill forced to wrestle with the wheel of his car to keep it moving forward and out of the wall.

Once his car was corrected, Hill moved down the track immediately to slam into Almirola's right-rear, causing the No. 19 to spin and crash heavily at the Brickyard, ending Almirola's race.

Hill claimed that this wasn't intentional, Almirola felt it certainly was. We'll let you be the judge.

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The yellow flag is out at @IMS following this incident involving multiple cars.@Aric_Almirola exited the No. 19 under his own power. pic.twitter.com/tOaYGsLFJw

— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) July 26, 2025

Will Austin Hill be banned by NASCAR?

At the time of the incident, Almirola's team made their feelings very well known on the radio, stating that if NASCAR wants to follow precedent, then Hill should be suspended.

And, post-race, despite having handed Hill a penalty already, NASCAR officials confirmed that they would be reviewing the footage in order to determine whether or not any further action is necessary.

Previously, NASCAR has suspended drivers for intentionally wrecking others, and if they deem Hill to have done that, the RCR driver could be in trouble.

Back in 2022, Bubba Wallace was suspended by NASCAR for one race under the rules that governed 'intentionally wrecking or spinning another vehicle' after an incident with Kyle Larson at Las Vegas.

Wallace is not the only one, either, with Chase Elliott having also been suspended for one race in 2023 for intentionally wrecking Denny Hamlin at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Having said that, there may be some hope for Hill. Austin Cindric escaped a race suspension despite right-rear hooking Ty Dillon at COTA earlier this season, with the Team Penske star having been hit with a huge penalty instead that saw him lose 50 driver points and $50,000.

All eyes will now be on NASCAR's post-race penalty report from Indianapolis, which is set to drop sometime in midweek.

READ MORE: NASCAR announce driver DISQUALIFICATION at Indianapolis

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