Austin Hill Needs Advice

NASCAR has decided that no penalties needed to be handed out for the Austin Hill incident with Shane van Gisbergen. I’m not going to argue for or against their decision here. To put it simply, I agree with the decision. There was no right rear hook. There was nothing over radio communications. NASCAR said there was no smoking gun. TNT, in my opinion, did a great job covering it, as far as getting eyes on the sport goes. From a journalistic point of view, however, they failed miserably. Unfortunately, that’s the trade off these days when it comes to any form of journalism.

There are many different positions on this topic to see on “NASCAR Twitter.” I’ve come across them all. Austin Hill fans who think that this came out of nowhere. SVG haters who think every on track incident between the two have been his fault. Also, plenty of Austin Hill haters who believe that anyone who wrecks Hill should get a pass. Live by the bumper; die by the bumper, so to speak. Furthermore, there are plenty of SVG fans who felt like the door slam under caution deserved a penalty.

It’s a big debate, and thankfully it has helped me get more impressions and engagement on X. Being a Shane van Gisbergen fan (and a bit of an Austin Hill hater) myself, I enjoyed the back and forth. Then I started to try and see it from Austin Hill’s perspective. That is when I realized there is a topic here that most pundits and analysts are missing. Austin Hill is in need of some Hall of Famer advice.

The Incident(s)

To fully grasp what is going on here, we need to go back to Pocono. I think it’s a bit of an exaggeration to go back to a lower series race from two years ago. It helps bring eyes to the sport, but it doesn’t do much for our understanding of what happened. Pocono was really the first run in that Austin Hill and Shane van Gisbergen had in the Cup series. Josh Berry and SVG were racing. Austin Hill decided to take them three wide and drive like he was two wide. SVG and Berry ended up wrecked.

This was SVG’s first DNF of the season. Prior to that he was in a much better position in the points standings. Then San Diego happened. This incident was also Austin Hill’s fault. Sure it didn’t look intentional to me, but when you’re a fill in driver racing around Chase contenders, intent doesn’t matter much. There’s a level of respect you need to give those drivers, unless you want to face a possible race/Chase manipulation accusation.

San Diego was a win that got away from SVG. He wasn’t fast at the outset, but as the track took rubber the 97 Silver Red Bull Trackhouse Chevy got faster. One would think that the only driver who got to have a full practice in both the O’Reilly Auto Parts series and the Cup series wouldn’t make such a mistake in the front of the field. That’s okay; rookies make mistakes. That Austin Hill-initiated-incident gave SVG his second DNF of the season. This one was a race that looked like SVG would win.

Chicagoland Incident(s)

The 97 car had to start in the back of the field after running over the bumps in turns 3 & 4 in qualifying. Still the 97 had pretty decent long run speed in practice. Prior to the on-track incident SVG had made it up into the top 20 on one restart but fell back into the lower 20s. It looked like a day that could have ended up with a decent top 20 finish, maybe even a top 15 depending on how adjustments went. Hill began racing SVG like Ryan Newman trying to stay on the lead lap. He attempted some aero blocking and then tried to cut down to the lane SVG was trying to run. Shane van Gisbergen didn’t lift. They made contact.

A big question the media missed out on asking was why is Austin Hill racing Chase contenders this way, or at least, a Chase contender. People miss the fact that SVG was doing rather well up until Pocono, whether it was his improved oval performance or his win at Watkins Glen. The plan this season has always been maximize points, finish every race, and improve on ovals. Shane van Gisbergen had been doing all of those things. After the incident, Austin Hill changed tires and door slammed the left side of the 97 car.

That was all it took. I watch the 97 in car every race and do live SVG race updates on X for every cup race. They either fixed it enough or SVG carried the slightly damaged car to a 25th place finish. Leaving pit road on the final pit stop, he was in the lower 30s. He drove his butt off for those several points. That’s what a contender does. Austin Hill did what, well, a grunting spud does.

Who has More to Lose? 

Austin Hill said that he was going to leave it in NASCAR’s hands. Furthermore, NASCAR is set to talk to both teams. Many NASCAR fans and even drivers (Denny Hamlin) seem to think that Shane van Gisbergen has more to lose here than Austin Hill. In my opinion, they couldn’t be more wrong. This is the topic that they are all missing the point on, except for maybe Kyle Petty. If SVG lifts in this situation, then Austin Hill will continue to race him like he’s racing himself and not a chase contender. Yes, Austin Hill could take matters into his own hands, as his bright white gloves have shown us in the past.

The proper question to ask here is not whether or not Hill will continue to race a chase contender like they’re Cody Ware. It’s not even to ask whether or not Shane van Gisbergen’s actions will ultimately be good or bad for him. Ultimately, the proper question to ask here is what does Austin Hill have to lose versus SVG. Many analysts have missed the point here entirely. They seem to assume that Austin Hill is temporarily driving Cup. In doing so, they’re doing him a great disservice.

Austin Hill has way more to lose than Shane van Gisbergen. Zoom out a little bit, and you will see what I mean. Sure, Hill could knock SVG out of this year’s Chase. Shane van Gisbergen is still going to be the class of the field in every road course or street race, even in not very fast cars, which he proved in Sonoma. He will have another shot next year, especially if he continues to improve on ovals and Trackhouse improves their cars. Austin Hill is the one in a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Austin Hill needs to ask Kevin Harvick for Advice

There is one driver in the garage that could probably help Austin Hill avoid throwing away his chances at a great Cup series career. Let’s not kid ourselves: Austin Hill has a career on the line. SVG has this season on the line. SVG will be able to drive in Cup as long as he wants. This isn’t a road course ringer situation. Will Austin Hill be able to? I, honestly, believe how he responds to this situation will ultimately determine if Austin Hill is going to have a Cup series career or remain the schoolyard bully of the O’Reilly Auto Parts series.

Of course, Richard Childress has his back. Childress (almost) always stands by his drivers. Sheldon Creed being the one example where he didn’t. They may share the same first name, but Austin Hill isn’t Austin Dillon. Dillon is family. That Austin doesn’t have much to worry about, except when to step out of the car and into the office. There is a reason Richard Childress hired Kyle Busch. Similarly, there was a reason Childress went with Kevin Harvick after Dale Earnhardt, Sr.’s tragic death in 2001. Harvick went on to be a first round hall of famer. Everyone will say well that was a different era. I was a Dale Earnhardt fan, and I remember thinking is RC putting enough money into the 3 car? I definitely remember asking that question when I was a Kevin Harvick fan. When Harvick went to Stewart-Haas Racing, as a fan, I went with him. RCR needs Hall of Fame drivers to compete. That’s only become more apparent over the years.

Hall of Fame drivers aren’t necessarily born. They’re made by every decision they make and by every pass (or shot) they make (or take). Austin Hill is in the same situation Kevin Harvick found himself in back in 2001. Even as good as he was, he made some mistakes that first year that I bet he would have done differently with hindsight being 20/20.

Conclusions

Austin Hill happens to be driving for the same owner that Kevin Harvick did. Instead of blaming it on being a “working class” team or pretending like a right rear hook is the same as a classic Earnhardt/Harvick bump and run, I think Childress should set up a conversation between Austin Hill and Kevin Harvick. Hill needs Harvick’s advice right now.

For in truth, Hill has so much more to lose than SVG. Nothing (barring some insane unforeseen event) is going to stop Shane van Gisbergen from winning the most road course Cup series races ever. He is too good at it and has too high of a racing IQ. My sincerest apologies to the haters, but SVG is going to continue to improve on ovals too. He will likely win races on ovals. It’s one season to Shane van Gisbergen versus an entire career opportunity for Austin Hill.

Austin Hill has so much more to lose, and if he doesn’t want to lose it, he might need to reach out to Kevin Harvick for advice. Harvick had to replace a legend at RCR, and he set the standard for replacing legends. His 20/20 hindsight vision can help Austin Hill avoid making mistakes in his own attempt to replace the legendary Kyle Busch. Hill could become a hero or a zero depending on how he handles this very existential situation.