There’s something about Turn 4 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway that tends to turn good judgment into carbon fiber confetti. On Saturday, during the NASCAR Xfinity Series race, that particular patch of pavement claimed Aric Almirola, a very angry Austin Hill, and whatever remained of Richard Childress’s patience with NASCAR.
With just under 40 laps to go in the Pennzoil 250, Almirola and Hill were fighting like two junkyard dogs over a meatball—battling for fourth place when things went from spirited to stupid in the space of a single corner.
It started in Turn 3. Almirola gave Hill just enough of a tap to make things interesting, getting Hill’s No. 21 RCR Chevrolet a little loose. It was the sort of thing that in NASCAR circles falls under “rubbin’s racin’” unless someone ends up in orbit. Hill saved it—barely—and then, in what could best be described as a high-speed reenactment of “You Started It,” veered back down the track and stuffed Almirola’s right-rear.
The result was ugly.
Almirola’s No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was sent nose-first into the outside wall with the force of a shotput fired from an F-16. Hill spun across the nose of Sheldon Creed like he was auditioning for Fast & Furious: Indianapolis Drift.
Almirola was done. 35th place. A long walk back to the hauler and an even longer flight home. Hill, meanwhile, was slapped with a five-lap penalty for reckless driving—effectively a mechanical guillotine in a race where every second matters. He wound up 34th, which is to say, the best-finished car with five fingers missing from his lap count.
And if you thought the on-track action was spicy, the post-race chatter could’ve melted asphalt.
Austin Hill, while marinating in his pit box during the penalty, let fly a radio tirade that would’ve made a sailor blush and a YouTube algorithm explode. Among the highlight reel of bleeps was this gem: “They can go f*** themselves,” referring, quite obviously, to NASCAR.
He was not made available for comment, presumably because someone found the duct tape.
Richard Childress, team owner and man who once punched Kyle Busch with the subtlety of a bar brawl, initially declined to say anything about the mess. And then, of course, he did.
“I’m not going to say nothing,” Childress began. “I’ll be in bigger trouble than I already am with NASCAR, period.”
But when asked whether Hill should be suspended, Childress launched into a tirade about perceived double standards—specifically referencing a past incident where a Joe Gibbs driver wrecked Hill and, in his words, “they didn’t do a damn thing.”
“It’s who you are,” Childress said. “We’re a blue-collar team. They give us trouble all the time.”
So there you have it: one crash, one penalty, one profanity-laced meltdown, and another dose of simmering discontent from one of the sport’s most combustible legends. And just like that, a race for fourth turned into a firestorm for NASCAR’s disciplinary department with further consequences that could be TBD.
Welcome to Indy.
Greg was a writer for DriveTribe supporting Amazon's The Grand Tour and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, and a Masters degree in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek and a regular contributor to Forbes.
- Kyle Larson vs. Ryan Blaney is NASCAR’s Bromance With Bodywork - September 7, 2025
- From Vegas High to Gateway Low: Josh Berry’s Playoff Freefall - September 7, 2025
- Two Teammates, Two Very Different Nights at Darlington - August 31, 2025