NASCAR officials have granted a waiver to Austin Hill, officials confirmed to NASCAR.com Tuesday night, allowing the No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet driver to remain eligible for the Xfinity Series Playoffs despite missing last weekend’s race at Iowa Speedway.
Hill, a three-time winner in 2025, was suspended from Saturday‘s Hy-Vee Perks 250 at Iowa for his actions in the July 26 race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where officials viewed Hill intentionally crashed Aric Almirola in the waning laps of the event. Hill was also issued a five-lap penalty for reckless driving immediately after the incident.
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By receiving the playoff waiver, Hill remains eligible for the postseason despite missing one of the Xfinity Series‘ 33 races this year. However, as the result of a rule change established ahead of the 2025 campaign, Hill will forfeit the 21 playoff points he had earned through the opening 21 races and will be ineligible to receive any additional playoff points through the Xfinity Series‘ regular-season finale at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway on Sept. 6.
Hill will return to competition Saturday at Watkins Glen International (3 p.m. ET, The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), where he has one top-20 finish in three starts. The 31-year-old Georgia native sits fifth in the regular-season standings, 122 points behind series co-leaders Justin Allgaier and Connor Zilisch after Saturday‘s race at Iowa.
Austin Dillon, winner of the 2018 Daytona 500 and 2017 Coca-Cola 600, replaced Hill in the No. 21 Chevrolet at Iowa and finished 14th in his second Xfinity start of the season. Dillon, the full-time racer of the No. 3 Chevrolet for RCR in the NASCAR Cup Series, also piloted the No. 3 car in the Xfinity Series to a 13th-place finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May.
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