Denny Hamlin gives surprising take on Austin Hill-Aric Almirola Xfinity drama

NASCAR brought the hammer down on Austin Hill after he intentionally right-rear hooked Aric Almirola during this past weekend’s Xfinity Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Many agreed that a one-race suspension was the right decision, but Denny Hamlin is playing devil’s advocate.

The veteran Cup Series wheelman tried to make sense of Hill’s choice to turn Almirola, believing he might’ve simply been trying to save his own ride. Hamlin makes some salient points, but it’s evident NASCAR didn’t agree with his sentiment.

“I mean, it didn’t look good,” Hamlin stated, regarding Hill on the latest episode of his podcast. “But golly, would he really be that egregious? The only thing I can think of — I’m looking at it, and I try to give the benefit of the doubt. I think Austin Hill, because the fans generally don’t like him, is not going to get the benefit of the doubt. You know, I’ve seen some Martinsville races where it’s like, I ain’t giving that guy the benefit of the doubt either. Just, you know, bowling is way through. But I’m thinking about being in his position and he gets turned sideways and you’re trying to hold on to it.

“I’ll say this, sometimes, and actually most times, when I’m correcting that big of a motion, I’m usually letting the wheel slide in my hands. It’s hard to full go this way — you can’t do it quick enough. It’s best to just let the thing — let it go on one side, catch it with the other, and that’s how you correct. Or that’s how I’ve done it a few times. The only thing I can think of that made his car go sharp left into the No. 19 is that the wheel was not done spinning in his hands, or when he grabbed it, when he’s turning it, correcting it, he lets go, he catches it, it gets correct, but then he holds the wheel, and now the wheel’s not, he’s not holding the wheel in his normal 10-and-2.

“If the car was going straight, he’s now actually holding it in a different position. I know his hand’s right here, but he’s — you gotta understand what I’m saying is that the wheel has clocked, because he let it spin on his hands. So, this is not straight up anymore. This could be — the front wheels are turned that way. I’m just coming up with a theory. That’s all. It looked like he right-rear hooked the No. 19. I’m just saying, there’s no way you can be that dumb.

“… It feels like, if there’s anyone that would kind of fly off the rails because someone ran into him, it’s probably him. But I just feel like there’s an opportunity that he let the wheel spin in his hands to try to correct quickly, which he did an amazing job of. Then, when he grabbed onto the wheel, the wheel was no longer straight up. It was turned to the left. That’s my theory.”

Moving forward, Hill will start Saturday’s HyVee Perks 250 Xfinity Series race at Iowa Speedway. Per NASCAR’s updated guidelines for playoff waivers, missing a race due to a suspension results in a loss of all playoff bonus points. Hill had 21 playoff points prior to the suspension, third most among drivers.

Denny Hamlin thinks Austin Hill should’ve been given the benefit of the doubt, but it’s hard to see how he’s earned it when you look at some of his past decisions on the track. Regardless, the Xfinity wheelman has put his team in a hole, and it’ll be interesting to see if they can climb over when he returns to the car after Iowa.