SPEEDWAY, Ind. — Things got ugly between Aric Almirola and Austin Hill in the closing laps of Saturday’s (July 26) Pennzoil 250 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Racing for fourth with 10 laps to go, Almirola nudged Hill out of the way in an attempt to take the spot. Hill initially saved the car, but the two made contact in turn 3, with Almirola getting sent head-on into the outside wall as a result.
Hill was handed a five-lap penalty by NASCAR for reckless driving and finished 34th; he was not happy with the decision, to say the least.
Almirola climbed from his car and was checked and released from the infield care center. He immediately believed that Hill’s actions were deliberate.
“He blocked me a few times, and I got him loose down there in (turn) 3,” Almirola explained. “He had damage on his nose, so he was really slow in the corners, and it was time for me to go.
“I needed to go so that the leaders didn’t put too big of a gap on us, and I got him loose to get under him, and he just made a hard left and hooked me in the right rear.”
It was a vicious hit at a high-speed track, and Almirola struck a concrete wall instead of a SAFER barrier.
“That was violent,” Almirola said. “To be totally honest, that is one of the hardest hits I’ve taken in my NASCAR career. The impact felt very similar to when I broke my back (in 2017). I’d be very interested to see the black box data from that crash, but it was vicious, and that’s just uncalled for. …
“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.”
If that data proves that Hill’s actions were intentional, was it a move worthy of a suspension?
“That’s been the case for a lot of other calls like that,” Almirola said. “Especially at a place like this, (with) 90-degree corners where we’re going 180 miles per hour.
Hill declined to comment to Frontstretch and other media outlets after the conclusion of the race.
Hill’s owner Richard Childress pleaded the fifth for his thoughts on the incident itself, but he was adamant that Hill’s actions were not worthy of a suspension.
“Hell, no,” Childress said. “They didn’t do a damn thing to the No. 2 car (Austin Cindric). He wrecked Ty (Dillon) 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.”
Any additional penalties stemming from the incident, if deemed necessary, would be announced on either Tuesday (July 29) or Wednesday (July 30) in NASCAR’s weekly penalty report.
Stephen Stumpf is the NASCAR Content Director for Frontstretch and is a three-year veteran of the site. His weekly column is “Stat Sheet,” and he formerly wrote "4 Burning Questions" for three years. He also writes commentaries, contributes to podcasts, edits articles and is frequently at the track for on-site coverage.
Find Stephen on Twitter @stephen_stumpf