Austin Hill will not miss the playoffs after serving a one-race suspension for a wreck at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. NASCAR has granted him a playoff waiver.
Hill wrecked fellow driver Aric Almirola during the July 26 Xfinity Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. NASCAR officials held the Richard Childress Racing driver for five laps for reckless driving. They then issued a one-race suspension after deeming the incident intentional.
The waiver announcement took place late Tuesday night. Series officials told NASCAR.com that Hill had indeed received the waiver. He will still have the opportunity to compete in the 12-driver field once the playoffs begin at Bristol Motor Speedway on Sept. 12.
However, the waiver comes with a twist. Hill loses all 21 of his playoff points earned prior to the suspension. He will not have the opportunity to earn any more playoff points between now and the end of the regular season at World Wide Technology Raceway on Sept. 6.
The lost playoff points come as part of an offseason rule change. Under NASCAR's previous rules, drivers who missed races could request a waiver. If granted, they could continue competing in the playoffs without any other issues. The reason for the missed race ultimately didn't matter if NASCAR granted a playoff waiver.
The situation changed last season when Kyle Larson first attempted to complete the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. Rain in Indianapolis delayed the start of IndyCar's biggest race and forced Hendrick Motorsports to make a decision.
They could either leave the Indy 500 and go to Concord, North Carolina, for the start of the Coca-Cola 600, or they could stay for the Indy 500 and miss a significant portion of a NASCAR crown jewel race. HMS and Larson chose to stay for the Indy 500.
Larson made it to Concord after Cup Series drivers completed two of the four stages. He did not have time to get any seat time in the No. 5 Chevrolet due to rain and humidity that ultimately forced NASCAR to cancel the rest of the Coca-Cola 600. The team then requested a playoff waiver, which NASCAR ultimately granted after a wait of more than a week.
Once the season ended, NASCAR updated its Rule Book. It announced in January several rule changes, which included the new playoff waiver guidelines.
"The driver will forfeit all current and future Playoff Points (earned prior to the Playoffs) and will start the Playoffs with a maximum of 2,000 points," the update said. The updated rules noted that drivers could avoid these penalties if they missed a race for certain medical reasons. This is something that came into play this season as Denny Hamlin missed Mexico City for the birth of his first son.