Austin Hill has been suspended for one race in the NASCAR Xfinity Series after intentionally right-rear hooking Aric Almirola at high speed on the Indianapolis oval. The move drew instant scrutiny, and now, NASCAR has made a firm statement. Hill, known for his aggressive style, will sit out Iowa, be replaced by Austin Dillon, and lose every single one of his 21 playoff points — potentially dropping him from a top seed to the 12th and final playoff spot.

• Why did NASCAR feel Hill’s move warranted a harsher penalty than others this season?
• How does losing over 30 projected playoff points change his title chances?
• Why was Christopher Bell not penalized for a similar-looking incident?
• And what does this say about NASCAR’s consistency on suspensions?

With five races left in the regular season, Hill still has time to make noise — but he’s now playing with fire. The playoff road just got much harder, and his past on-track behavior may finally be catching up to him. NASCAR has made it clear: right-rear hooks at high-speed ovals will not be tolerated, no matter the name on the windshield. What do you think — did NASCAR get it right? Or did they overreach with this penalty? Let us know in the comments.

Watch also:

• TNT finishes five-race run with  average viewership of 2.06m 
• F1 now averaging 1.37m viewers through 2025 season, overtaking IndyCar (1.27m viewers)

Nascar has closed its five-race run on TNT Sports with 2.45 million viewers at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS).

That represents a year-over-year (YoY) audience decrease of 32.5 per cent but last year’s Brickyard 400 aired on NBC, which makes for a slightly skewed comparison.

In fact, last weekend’s race at IMS was the highest audience achieved by TNT in its five-race package, bringing its average viewership to 2.06 million for the full run. This falls just below the 2.1 million average viewers on Prime Video, but it is clear that both of Nascar’s new broadcast partners have brought similar levels of performance.

Notably, these new partners have been a hit with younger audiences and TNT continued that trend last weekend. Viewers between the ages of 18 and 34 increased 96 per cent compared to the 2024 Cup Series average on cable.

The 2025 Nascar Cup Series season is now averaging 2.75 million viewers in the US through 22 regular season races.

Nascar was the best-performing motorsport property last weekend on the US viewership front, although Formula One did manage an average viewership of 1.4 million for the race-only portion of the Belgian Grand Prix on ESPN.

That said, Nascar’s news release confirming its own average viewership last weekend also points out that Formula One averaged 1.08 million viewers for the full broadcast (which contained an 80-minute rain delay). This is not the first time Nascar has pulled that move this season.

Nascar is evidently mindful about Formula One’s viewership gains, especially as the Belgian Grand Prix on ESPN represents a 27.3 per cent YoY increase on last year’s edition. Since the Formula One season started, Nascar is averaging 2.32 million viewers per race compared to Formula One’s 1.37 million viewers.

Elsewhere, IndyCar continues to struggle with the increased competition across the board as 734,000 viewers tuned in on Fox for Álex Palou’s eighth win of the season at Laguna Seca.

Palou’s historic season may be contributing to a degree of audience apathy, but IndyCar failing to exceed one million viewers for six consecutive races on commercial television points to a disappointing return.

However, this year’s Laguna Seca viewership is a 301 per cent increase on last year’s race, which only recorded 183,000 viewers on CNBC. It is also the highest audience recorded at Laguna Seca since it returned to the IndyCar schedule in 2019.

IndyCar is now averaging 1.27 million viewers through 14 races.

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NASCAR officials penalized Xfinity Series driver Austin Hill on Tuesday, suspending him for one race for his actions in last Saturday’s race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Hill, driver of the Richard Childress Racing No. 21 Chevrolet, is set to miss this weekend’s event at Iowa Speedway (Saturday, 4:30 p.m. ET, The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Richard Childress Racing did not immediately announce either any plans to appeal the penalty or who might substitute for Hill this weekend.

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RELATED: Xfinity Series schedule | Weekend schedule: Iowa

Hill tangled with Aric Almirola in the 91st of 100 laps in Saturday’s Pennzoil 250, when Almirola’s No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota first nudged Hill’s No. 21 Chevy into a slide in Turn 3. After righting his car, Hill bumped Almirola’s right-rear fender, turning the No. 19 sharply into the Turn 4 retaining wall.

Almirola was sidelined after heavy nose-first contact, finishing 35th in the 38-car field. Hill continued with a damaged car, but race officials held him for five laps in the pits for rough driving.

Almirola called the contact “definitely intentional” in interviews after he was evaluated and released from the Indianapolis track’s infield care center. Hill declined comment after his 34th-place result, but in radio transmissions to his No. 21 team after the altercation, the 31-year-old driver indicated that the initial contact left him struggling to regain control before the two cars touched again.

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Hill’s absence from a regular-season race will require a waiver so that he may retain his eligibility for the Xfinity Series Playoffs. Under a rule established before the 2025 season, he will forfeit his total of 21 playoff points and be ineligible to collect more before the postseason begins.

Competition officials also issued two-race suspensions to two Legacy Motor Club crewmembers after the right-front wheel detached from the No. 43 Toyota driven by Erik Jones in Sunday’s Cup Series race. Jones crashed in the 90th of 168 laps after the wheel failure, and he finished 36th after starting a promising third in the 39-car field.

As a result of the safety violation, NASCAR officials suspended LMC’s Kellen Mills (jack) and John Rosselli (front-tire changer) for the next two events — Sunday at Iowa and the following weekend at Watkins Glen International.

PRINCETON, W.Va. (WVVA) – Anyone who wants to ride a trail motorcycle but has never had the opportunity has a chance to experience the ride on Aug. 9 at Kairos Wilderness Resort in Glen Lyn, Va.

Called Beta Demo Day and sponsored by West Virginia Motorsports of Princeton, the event starts at 10 a.m. and eight different dirt bikes will be available to hit the trails at Kairos.

The ride is free with registration.

To sign up, call WV Motorsports at 304-487-3478 or visit wvmotorsports@gmail.com. Riders must be at least 18 years old.

Kairos is located above New River near Glen Lyn at Shumate Falls.

Copyright 2025 WVVA. All rights reserved.

The stars of the Radical Cup North America series shone brightly during the Java House Grand Prix of Monterey at Laguna Seca. Raiden Nicol surely caught the eye of the NTT IndyCar Series team owners by claiming an outright victory as he continued his perfect season to pick up wins 10, 11 and 12 in Pro 1500, while debutant Sam McDougall also impressed. Louis Schriber claimed two victories in the Platinum class, and Chris McMurry returned with a clean sweep in Pro 1340.

“With nearly 30 competitors battling it out on the twists and turns of the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, the Radical Cup was some of the most exciting races of the weekend,” said Radical Motorsport’s Tom Drewer. “Especially the epic ‘David and Goliath’ style battle between Field in the high-horsepower SR10 and Raiden Nicol in the 1500cc SR3. I hope the talent scouts were watching that one, because in Raiden Nicol there is something truly special, and he wasn’t the only standout. And with two weekends remaining, many of the championship battles are tighter than ever.”

Platinum

In the Platinum class, it was Jon Field who made a bold statement, converting his pole position into a commanding win in race one, leading flag to flag. Behind him, championship contender Louis Schriber looked poised for a strong runner-up finish after an early race battle, but a mid-race mistake cost him track position. Capitalizing on the moment, Wayne Williams and Chip Romer charged forward to take second and third, respectively, joining Field on the class podium.

Race two of the weekend at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca brought intense action and unexpected shakeups, especially in the Platinum class. Field who led early, looked poised to take another dominant win after leading nearly the entire race. However, upon the final restart, in a dramatic twist, Field was passed by Pro 1500 driver Raiden Nicol in the penultimate turn and spun while attempting to reclaim the outright lead through the final corner. This dumped Field down the order and handed victory to Schriber, who made a strong comeback to secure his second win of the season for JBR Motorsports. Scott Wagner, who had battled with Schriber early on, suffered an alternator belt failure with just under six minutes remaining, allowing Wayne Williams to take over second and Chip Romer to claim the final podium position in third.

In the final race of the weekend for the Platinum class, Schriber capped off a stellar performance by claiming his second third win of the year. He held off Wayne Williams, who crossed the line in second, while Scott Wagner rounded out the podium, and Steve Jenks salvaged fourth to still have a shot at the championship title. For much of the race it looked as though Wagner might add his name to winner’s list, but a tussle with Field, who was trying to unlap himself, and a mistake in the Corkscrew on the second to last lap cost him two steps. It also meant Williams walked away with three wins and 16 points over Schriber with two events and six races to go. 

Pro 1500

The Pro 1500 class saw pole sitter Nicol deliver a flawless drive from the front in race one, securing not only the class win but an impressive fourth-place overall finish. He was followed by Matt Romer in second and Spencer Schmidt in third, rounding out a tightly contested Pro 1500 podium. Valen Venkatesh impressed with fifth in front of his home crowd, while Jack Yang beat out Mike Anzaldi to secure the Gold class trophy.

Amazingly, Nicol was faster than even the Platinum class cars, meaning that a Pro 1500 car started Race 2 from the outright pole – a first for the series. Not surprisingly, the Primal Racing driver was swamped by the faster class as the green flag flew. Schmidt immediately capitalized on the melee, which saw him lead Pro 1500 until lap four, when Nicol took over the top spot. Nicol then proceeded to hunt down Field, whom he passed with a surprise lunge through Turn 10 to take the overall win along with Pro 1500 honors.

Behind him, a fierce battle for the podium unfolded between Schmidt and Matt Romer, but a late-race restart saw Canadian Austin Riley make a bold move to pass both and grab second in class. Yang continued his strong run in Pro 1500 Gold, finishing fifth overall and collecting his second Gold class victory of the weekend.

In race three Nicol continued his unbeatable form, securing another dominant class victory and an impressive second overall. Matt Romer and Schmidt battled closely throughout the race to claim second and third in class, just ahead of Gold class winner Yang, who finished fourth overall and completed a clean sweep of the Gold class for the weekend. With 12 consecutive wins, Nicol is in complete control of both the Pro 1500 and Overall Radical Cup North America championship battles, however behind him, Yang is now second in Pro 1500 points, just three points clear of Riley, with Schmidt only 14 points further back.

Pro 1340

In the Pro 1340 class, it was veteran racer Chris McMurry who turned heads in his return to the series. The Crown Racing with Radical Arizona driver outdueled Race 1 pole sitter and class points leader Brady Clapham in a nail-biting battle that lasted to the checkered flag. McMurry claimed the win, while Clapham held onto second, with Graham Rahal Performance’s Dermot Ennis locking in the third spot to complete the class podium.

In race two, Chris McMurry was once again in a league of his own, dominating the Pro 1340 class and mixing it up with the Pro 1500 field as he ran wheel-to-wheel with the likes of Ryan Persing and Dennis Kelly. Dermot Ennis repeated his performance from race one to finish third, while Clapham, who had been ‘Mr. Consistency’ in the class, slipped back in the order reporting bent suspension after a wild ride early in the race. That opened the door for Mike Dardin to secure his first podium of the weekend, finishing second.

McMurry proved unstoppable in Race 3, sweeping the weekend with his third class win. Clapham bounced back after a tough second race to finish second, while Dardin completed the Pro 1340 podium in third, to give Crown Racing and Radical Arizona yet another podium result. Clapham’s points haul was strong enough to keep him will in front in terms of the championship table, while Ennis’s podiums has solidified him in second.

The Sunoco Hard Charger of the Race awards went to:

Chris McMurry – Race 1

Steve Jenks – Race 2

Brady Clapham – Race 3

Next stop for Radical Cup North America will be over the September 11-13 weekend as they battle the famed Road Atlanta facility in Braselton, Georgia.

Radical Cup North America events are open to local and regional Radical racers of all ages with eligible cars to participate. More information, including links to register for events and obtain licensing, can be found at www.radicalmotorsport.com. Stay tuned to the Radical Cup social media pages for the latest series news and updates.