NASCAR has granted a playoff waiver for Austin Hill after he sat out last weekend's race at Iowa Speedway. Hill had faced a one-race suspension for his deliberate shunt at Indianapolis and was stripped of his playoff points.With three wins this season, Hill ranked high on the playoff standings, but was bereft of his 21 playoff points after Indianapolis, where he was found to have intentionally wrecked Aric Almirola. Under NASCAR's 2025 regulations, he was also deemed ineligible for additional points until the postseason began.However, as The Athletic's Jeff Gluck reported on X, NASCAR's latest decision seems to nullify the impact."This NASCAR.com article says NASCAR has announced Austin Hill gets a waiver to still compete in the playoffs (as expected). Although I haven't seen it actually announced anywhere, so I guess this is the announcement or they announced it to themselves," Gluck wrote.Needless to say, fans weren't happy with NASCAR's move, as one fan wrote:"No playoff pts but still gets in, correct? What happened to the no waivers except medical if a driver misses a race? It was his own fault he was suspended and missed. Should have to deal with the the punishment as a result(not just the suspension)."Another fan defended Hill, saying:"I admit I dislike this because a driver suspension shouldn't even be a waiver issue. The missed race was NASCAR's decision, so the driver should still be playoff-eligible. But I also feel the "100%" provision is unnecessary on its own, anyway."Here are some more reactions to the announcement:"So….lesson NOT learned? Good job per usual NASCAR!!," an X user said."Hey powers that be @NASCAR can u do everyone a favor and get rid of this waiver bullshit? It's turned into a JOKE! IF U AIN'T GONNA ENFORCE THE RULE TAKE IT OFF THE BOOKS," a fan commented."NASCAR makes up the rules as they go," another fan said."Ol Richard getting his way. I’m stunned," another penned.Up next, Austin Hill heads to Watkins Glen International for his 22nd start of the season. He currently ranks fifth in the driver's standings with 122 points adrift of season leader, Connor Zilisch.Denny Hamlin explains the reason behind Austin Hill's penaltyDenny Hamlin recently reacted to Austin Hill's penalty that stripped him of his playoff points. The punishment was the first of its kind, and the Joe Gibbs Racing driver stood by the decision."The idea I think behind the penalty is to deter others from, you know, doing something similar to that in the same scenario. So, usually this is how it works where it just takes one rough driving penalty to, you know, get the field's attention and certainly nobody wants to have the the penalty that the 21 had," Hamlin said via Youtube/Frontstretch.[1:08 onwards]Denny Hamlin backs Austin Hill's penalty. Source: @Youtube/FrontstretchAustin Hill previously drew backlash for his aggressive final lap dash at Martinsville.