Chevy Driver Fined For Wrecking Xfinity NASCAR Ford Racer

May 30, 2024 3:56 pm

Cole Custer, driver of the No. 00 NASCAR Ford Mustang Dark Horse in the Xfinity Series, was wrecked out at Charlotte on May 25^th, 2024, and now, the driver who sent him into the wall has been penalized for intentionally crashing him.

As per this week’s penalty report on NASCAR.com, Austin Hill, driver of the No. 21 Chevy Camaro SS, was fined $25,000 and docked points for sending Custer into the wall. As a reminder, Hill and Custer tangled with 17 laps left in the race. The two race cars made contact, resulting in a cut tire on Hill’s machine.

Hill then spun out, collecting Custer as his race car went sideways in the middle of the pack. Hill, feeling that Custer had wronged him, put the No. 21 Camaro right on the bumper of the No. 00 Mustang and sent the latter spinning into the inside wall. Custer ultimately had to retire from the race due to the wreck, finishing 32^nd while Hill went on to finish 25^th, two laps down.

“[Hill] tried to kill me on the backstretch and just held it full throttle until he wrecked our car and killed the rear clip,” Custer said of the crash.

Officials reviewed the incident and found Hill’s actions to be in violation of Section 4.4B in the NASCAR Rule Book. Specifically, this section details with NASCAR’s Member Code of Conduct, with penalty guidelines that address:

Wrecking or spinning another vehicle, whether or not that vehicle is removed from Competition as a result.
Any actions deemed to compromise the safety of an Event or otherwise pose a dangerous risk to the safety of Competitors, Officials, spectators, or others.

Hill was fined $25,000 and docked 25 points in the Xfinity Series driver standings, dropping him from first to third. Custer is now second in the standings, just in front of Hill, while Chandler Smith, driver of the No. 81 Toyota TRD Supra, inherits the points lead.

Check out the incident that led to Hill’s penalty in the video below.