Dale Earnhardt Jr Stunned by the Downfall of Richard Childress’ Bully as a First Championship Still Eludes Him

“My goal is to just make it to the final four,” Austin Hill claimed before the postseason kicked off. Richard Childress’ Xfinity star has stunned at superspeedways this year. He opened the 2024 season with back-to-back victories at Daytona and Atlanta and went back to the latter track during the Fall to clinch yet another win. However, Dale Earnhardt Jr is surprised that other tracks have not yielded to Hill, especially considering his driving style.

After all, that’s what Richard Childress likes about Hill. “My favorite part [about Hill] is that he has that don’t-piss-me-off attitude, and I like that.” While getting into Hill’s bad books may not be the best thing, his rivals have overtaken him in the playoff standings, currently sitting 5th in the Round of 8. With yet another championship bid looking to slip through his fingers, Hill earned Dale Jr’s sympathy.

After winning the regular season championship last year, Austin Hill had to settle for 5th place in the final standings, failing to make the Championship 4. And courtesy of his latest outing in Las Vegas (where he finished 10th), he’s at risk of missing out on the final four again. Discussing the race in the October 23 episode of Dale Jr Download, Junior was surprised by both Austin Hill and AJ Allmendinger, just that it was for opposite reasons.

“I always felt like Austin Hill had the edge on all those guys,” said Dale Earnhardt Jr, alluding to Allmendinger, Jesse Love, Sammy Smith, and Sam Mayer. Seeing as he owns 18 top-10s and 10 top-5s so far this season, it made sense what Junior felt so. But… “They’ve had some odd results this year, some races where they haven’t shown up.” After starting the season with 5 straight top 10s, Hill finished 34th in Martinsville. Since then, he’s accumulated 7 finishes outside the top 15, and Dale Jr opined that Hill could’ve done much more. After all, 10 top-5s mean 10 missed opportunities to snatch wins.

Junior warily added that he would not like to tap into Hill’s rowdy side. “But he’s an aggressive guy… Austin Hill at -8? I would be a little bit nervous racing around him. ‘Cause he’s aggressive, I mean, let’s be honest. The guy’s physical.” Austin Hill has irked multiple Xfinity Series competitors this season. The most prominent may have been his wash-up with Shane van Gisbergen at Circuit of the Americas. The two rivals door-slammed each other while Kyle Larson got away with the victory. Then, Richard Childress’ hot rod locked horns with Cole Custer at Charlotte.

The two crashed with 17 laps remaining – although Hill lost control and collected Custer, he continued to initiate contact as the two cars reached the backstretch. This landed a massive $25,000 penalty and a 25-point cut on Hill’s lap. Now, with his P10 finish in Las Vegas, Hill’s below the cutline, and Junior feels the Richard Childress Racing driver’s rivals need to keep a lookout. But AJ Allmendinger can rest assured that he’s going to Phoenix no matter what happens in the next two races.

“I’m a bit surprised by AJ’s performance at this point in the season because they really hadn’t been a championship contender,” Dale Jr said following the Kaulig Racing driver’s win in Las Vegas. Considering he’s booked his spot in Phoenix, Junior continued, “When you think about who the four cars are that should go to the finals, I wouldn’t have put AJ in that group.” With Justin Allgaier, Cole Custer, and Chandler Smith being the “class of the field,” Junior & Co. saw AJ as more of a wildcard to reach Phoenix. But he’s pleasantly surprised everyone.

As for Austin Hill, compared to 2023, his season has witnessed a dip. He won the regular season title last year, whereas in 2024, Hill finished fourth in the regular-season standings. After two early-season victories, Hill and crew chief Andy Street chased playoff points. But the postseason demands a stage points strategy that is going to be awry for the No. 21 Chevy team.

Dale Earnhardt Jr continued, “It’s been interesting to see how they’ve put themselves in the position. I would have expected at this point of the year that Austin Hill would be in a much better position points-wise.” Now, Hill and his crew would need a win under their belt for a championship bid. That said, this is hardly the first time Austin Hill has faltered right at the end.

Austin Hill let his rowdiness overcome him

Richard Childress may fancy the boiling side of Austin Hill, but that has not always helped the driver. Back in 2021, Hill drove for Hattori Racing in the Craftsman Truck Series and was primed to enter the Round of 8 with a bang. However, an aggressive chain of events at Bristol ended that championship bid. Hill started 10th and picked up 17 stage points, but with 12 laps to go, he had a face-off with Josh Berry.

He attempted to cut off the latter, the No. 16’s left rear clipping the right front of Berry’s No. 25 Truck. That contact left Hill sliding into the inside wall. He then ricocheted back into traffic, collecting Lawless Alan, Hailie Deegan, Derek Kraus, and Austin Wayne Self. That aggressive misstep eliminated Hill from the 2021 Truck Series playoffs, and he lamented afterward.

“I was just trying to get in line, and my spotter told me that he was coming, and he was there. Kind of went down a little bit to see if I could spook him a little bit and maybe make him lift, and I misjudged it. I came down too much. Then, as soon as he got into me, it just took all the rear stability out of it, and off we went. I hate that we tore up all those other race trucks, and I hope everybody ended up alright.”

Evidently, Austin Hill may need to check his aggressive habit, as Dale Earnhardt Jr. mentioned. As the Xfinity Series progresses, he needs a big stroke of luck if Hill hopes to advance into the final round.