XFINITY: Austin Hill Granted Playoff Waiver Following Iowa Suspension

According to a NASCAR.com report, Austin Hill has officially been granted a Playoff Waiver by NASCAR following his one-race suspension, due to an incident at Indianapolis Motor Speedway the week prior, which he served last weekend at Iowa Speedway. This means the driver of the No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet remains eligible to compete for the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship despite missing last weekend's race.

The major wrinkle in Hill's Waiver is that he is the first driver to feel the impact of new rules instituted by NASCAR in the offseason, which stated any Playoff Waiver granted for non-medical reasons would result in the loss of any current or future earned Playoff Points. As a result, Hill will be stripped of the 21 Playoff Points that he had earned as a result of his three race wins and six Stage Wins this season.

The 31-year-old driver will also forfeit any additional Playoff Points earned through the end of the NASCAR Xfinity Series regular-season.

Hill will return to the driver's seat of the No. 21 Chevrolet in Saturday's NASCAR Xfinity Series Mission 200 at The Glen at Watkins Glen International, and he enters the race fifth in the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship standings, 122 points behind co-point leaders Connor Zilisch and Justin Allgaier.

In three career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at the 2.45-mile Watkins Glen International road course, Hill has a best finish of 14th, which he earned in the 2023 edition of the event. Hill crashed out of last season's race at The Glen, which resulted in a 33rd-place finish.

Austin Dillon, the full-time driver of the iconic No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series, filled in for Hill last weekend at Iowa Speedway and brought the No. 21 entry home in the 13th position. As a result, the No. 21 Richard Childress Racing team was able to remain fifth in the Xfinity Series owner standings.