After serving a one-race suspension, Austin Hill is back in the NASCAR Xfinity Series garage. The Richard Childress Racing driver isn’t backing down and maintains that his contact with Aric Almirola at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was not intentional.

How Does Austin Hill Explain the Indianapolis Incident?

Hill returned to the track yesterday at Watkins Glen, speaking to the media for the first time since his clash with Almirola two weeks ago, which sparked debate among fans and officials. “I know that when I go to my grave way down the road, that it wasn’t done on purpose,” Hill told NASCAR. “So, I can at least take that with me.”

With eight laps remaining during the race at Indianapolis, Almirola’s No. 19 Toyota made contact with Hill, sending his No. 21 Chevrolet up the track. Hill recovered from that initial contact but moved left toward the inside, entering Turn 4. At the same time, Sheldon Creed made light contact with Hill from behind, which resulted in Hill’s car connecting with Almirola’s right rear, sending the latter spinning.

NASCAR officials called Hill’s move intentional and held him in his pit box for five laps. Hill spoke to Xfinity Series director Eric Peterson and senior vice president of competition Elton Sawyer to try to prove that it was unintentional.

“From my standpoint, it was a full racing incident, full racing deal,” Hill said. “I pleaded my case to NASCAR and everyone. I told Peterson everything that went down, showed him the SMT data, showed him that Creed and I were together before making contact with Almirola. From my standpoint, it was fully unintentional.”

Hill’s competitive nature has earned him criticism from parts of the NASCAR world, but this was the first suspension of his career. He compared this to a 2023 incident in Charlotte with Cole Custer, where he admitted fault and accepted penalties without any protest.

What Are Hill’s Plans Moving Forward?

Over the past two weeks, Hill and Almirola have not spoken a word to each other. Hill said, “I’m not sure what kind of issue he possibly has with me, but in his shoes, he plays both sides, and I just don’t do that. You get what you get with me, and you either like it or you don’t.”

Hill’s only regret from Indianapolis was using unprofessional words against NASCAR officials over the radio in the heat of the moment.

“I told NASCAR I can’t go back and change it, all I can do is try to be a better person moving forward,” Hill said. “All of those conversations have been great. Conversations that I’ve had with my sponsors and partners have been good, but there are some things that they would like to see differently from me moving forward.”

Although losing 21 playoff points makes the postseason journey more challenging for Hill, his No. 21 team has his back, according to him. NASCAR granted him a playoff waiver, allowing him to race for the championship, but he will have no points to carry over.

For now, the Georgia native’s focus shifts to today’s race at the Watkins Glen International Raceway.