Dale Earnhardt Jr. rejects Austin Hill’s Indianapolis controversy justification

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has snubbed Austin Hill's justification for the Indianapolis incident. Speaking about Hill's statement following his wreck on Aric Almirola, Earnhardt Jr. stated that he didn't buy Hill's justification that the "hook" was unintentional.

The Richard Childress Racing driver was battling for fourth with Almirola and Sheldon Creed when he made contact with the former. Almirola was trying to get to the inside and pass Hill, and in doing so, he nudged Hill.

As a result, Hill's car became unsettled for a brief amount of time, and he was on the verge of losing position. However, Hill had a way to come back to Almirola and take his position. He turned his car to the left aggressively and knocked Almirola from behind.

As a result, both Hill and Almirola went out of the race and got wrecked. Speaking about it, Earnhardt Jr. stated that it wasn't the right move, and certainly wasn't unintentional. Here's what he added on this (44:45-45:10):

"It wasn't, it wasn't a right hook," Earnhardt Jr. said in the recent Dale Jr Download podcast. "No, it wasn't a right hook at all. It wasn't a right hook. This is not the same thing that happened at Indy. Even though he still says that he didn't do it intentionally at Indy. I don't buy it. I don't think anybody does. But this was racing. And is it avoidable? Yes."

Following the wreck, NASCAR penalized Austin Hill heavily.

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What did Austin Hill say about the Indianapolis Motor Speedway incident?

Austin Hill (21) and Aric Almirola (19) collide Saturday, July 26, 2025, during the Pennzoil 250 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway - Source: Imagn

Following the conclusion of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Xfinity Series race, Austin Hill stated that the move was purely unintentional and that he was a smarter racer than to make a move like this.

"From my standpoint, it was fully unintentional. It wasn't one of those lose your mind moments and turn to the left. I feel like I'm a smarter racer than that. If I was mad about him getting into the back of me, I would have waited until Turn 1 and shipped him like he shipped me in Turn 3. That would have been it. I would have moved him out of the groove and went on," he said.

Drivers hooking each other during the race is no new deal in NASCAR. There were multiple occasions where Cup Series driver Carson Hocevar tagged Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and made him lose positions, but NASCAR did not penalize Hocevar for it, unlike Austin Hill.