“I’m not sure what kind of issue Aric Almirola possibly has”: Austin Hill breaks silence after brutal NASCAR penalty

Austin Hill discussed his fallout with Aric Almirola and pointed out that the latter 'plays both sides', a trait he supposedly doesn't share with the veteran driver. He maintained that his Indianapolis shunt was 'fully unintentional' and that he was a 'smarter racer than that'.

In the closing laps at Indianapolis, Hill survived a scrappy duel with Almirola before turning in on the latter's right rear quarter panel. The move sent Almirola nose-first into the outside walls while Hill managed to continue racing.

In response, NASCAR levied Hill with a five-lap penalty, placed him on a one-race suspension, and docked him of his 21 playoff points. Almirola, meanwhile, described the 'vicious' incident as 'one of the hardest hits' he's ever taken.

Returning to the cockpit at Watkins Glen, Hill spoke out on the whole ordeal, saying (via NASCAR.com),

"I’m not sure what kind of issue he possibly has with me, but in his shoes, he plays both sides, and I just don’t do that. You get what you get with me, and you either like it or you don’t.”

He also mentioned that his contact with Almirola wasn't an act of retaliation.

"I know that when I go to my grave way down the road, that it wasn’t done on purpose. So, I can at least take that with me,” he said.

“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," he added.

Despite missing a regular-season race, Austin Hill received a playoff waiver that made him eligible for the postseason.

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A lookback on Austin Hill's season so far

Austin Hill began the season with a DNF at Daytona but made a turnaround at Atlanta and secured his maiden win. However, his momentum was short-lived, as he bounced off the inside walls in Phoenix and took himself out, collecting Sheldon Creed and Dean Thompson in the process. The mistake cost him a points lead in the driver's standings.

He later found success at Martinsville during a final lap dash to the checkered flag, but his win wasn't without controversy, as many criticized his overly aggressive tactics. With a handful of top 10s and yet another race win at Talladega Superspeedway, Hill was poised to regain the series lead, but recent weeks have seen a mostly mid-pack finish for the Richard Childress Racing driver.

Up next, Austin Hill heads to Watkins Glen International and looks to leverage his superior track record at road courses, logging four top-5s from his last five road course events. Fans can watch the race unfold on CW at 3 PM ET on Saturday, August 9.