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Austin Hill crew chief blames Aric Almirola after causing caution flag at Indy

JHby: Jonathan Howard07/20/24Jondean25

On Lap 67 of the Pennzoil 250, Aric Almirola went spinning around. He had help from Austin Hill, but it doesn’t appear there is much remorse. The NASCAR Xfinity Series race in Indianapolis is heating up.

Aric Almirola was running P6 with Austin Hill behind him in P7. Coming out of Turn 1, Almirola went around after a small love tap and he spun around and around.

Amazingly, Almirola avoided the wall and every car on the track as well.

Austin Hill’s crew chief, Andy Street, was heard on the radio putting the blame on Almirola.

“I don’t know,” Hill said, via Richard Allen. “I didn’t want that to happen, I don’t know why we’re as tight as we are.”

“You don’t have to explain it,” Street said. “He knows the position he put us in.”

Austin Hill has a knack for getting himself into situations like this. However, it looked innocent enough to me. There are times when one driver is to blame over another. These two were racing hard in the final stage, one of them went around. It happens.

Now, Almirola is someone who doesn’t mind getting physical on or off the track. So, I’d be careful If I were Hill. Everything is racing-related until it isn’t, you know?

Speaking of Austin Hill and rivalries, Shane van Gisbergen isn’t too far away from Hill now. Maybe we will see the next chapter in the Hill vs. SVG fight.

Austin Hill hasn’t won in a while

Ever since winning the first two races of the season, Austin Hill has failed to win a third. He has had solid runs, but there is inconsistency with him this season that wasn’t there a year ago.

The good news, Hill has been running well as of late. Nashville, he was P4. Chicago, P7. Last week at Pocono, P7 as well. Those performances, consistent performances, are what lead to wins. It is actually Hill’s longest top-10 streak since the first six races of the season.

So, there is positive momentum with the 21 team. There absolutely is. They have to take advantage of it before it goes away, though. Everyone wants to win every week, but it doesn’t always happen.

Other drivers like Justin Allgaier and Cole Custer have started to flex their muscles. As those teams continue to rise, Hill and his team have to respond. He gets enough criticism for being a superspeedway driver. He is more than that, though.

Austin Hill may have made a new enemy. Or maybe he didn’t. That doesn’t change the fact that he needs to get back to Victory Lane sooner rather than later.