Austin Hill is not perhaps the most favored Xfinity Series race car driver among NASCAR fans. More often than not, he is on the receiving end of a barrage of negative comments after being involved in a wreck. But this time, he has surprisingly garnered support from the fans despite wrecking Aric Almirola at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Coming off a late restart, Almirola didn’t fire off well, and in a desperate attempt to keep hold of his track position, he slid into Hill’s path. A minimal contact by the No. 21 car sent Almirola’s No. 20 Toyota Camry spinning off the first corner. The veteran driver barely missed the wall while doing a full 360.
Luckily, all the race cars were able to make their way around Almirola and thus avoided a big pile up like the one that sparked at the start of the race. This was Almirola’s first race in the #20 car after serving a suspension for reportedly being involved in a physical altercation with Bubba Wallace. Perhaps this was the reason why Hill wasn’t reprimanded by the fans like he usually is.
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THIS IS RIDICULOUS, ARIC ALMIROLA. 😳
📺 : USA Network | #XfinitySeries pic.twitter.com/HcL0V2fgWR
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) July 20, 2024
Fans surprisingly sided with Austin Hill despite wrecking the veteran JGR driver
Fans have labeled Hill as NASCAR’s crybaby, who is always out to defend himself after being involved in a crash. It became a thing that, without even knowing the whole story, fans would accuse the RCR star of being the perpetrator. But this time around, the script flipped on its head as fans cut him some slack, “Austin Hill accidentally doing something positive for once.”
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Even those who weren’t able to bear his sight on the racetrack were in his favor for wrecking Aric Almirola during the race. “Can’t believe I’m saying this but thank you Austin Hill!”
Now no one knows the entire story of what happened behind the closed doors between Bubba Wallace and Aric Almirola. However, with the latter being reprimanded by his team with a multi-race suspension, fans got a clue about who was in the wrong in that altercation. Therefore, Austin Hill’s questionable tactics on the racetrack were seen as a righteous act by this race fan, “Austin Hill doing gods work.”
Although the RCR driver has already racked up two Xfinity Series wins. This was the first time he really won the fan’s support and their best wishes in a true sense, “rare Austin hill w.”
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We’ve seen Hill get frustrated being run hard by SVG on road course races. Knowing that his arguments were going to be debunked by the fans he called, he decided to name them keyboard warriors during a post-race interview earlier this season. Despite being at odds with the driver and his brash attitude, this race fan was okay to let his antics slide this time around. “I give Austin Hill a pass this time.”
Not sure if Bubba Wallace got justice or not, fans certainly believe that Austin Hill is doing his job in returning the favor.