Some rivalries disappear once the checkered flag waves. Others simply move to the garage. Austin Hill and Shane van Gisbergen appeared to be in the latter category after their heated Chicagoland clash. The two drivers finally sat down in the NASCAR hauler ahead of this weekend’s race at EchoPark Speedway in Atlanta. When reporters asked Hill if they had settled things, his answer left plenty of room for doubt.
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Austin Hill leaves the door open on SVG truce
“I sure hope so.”
Just four words. But they were enough to suggest that while Austin Hill and Shane van Gisbergen have talked things through, nobody is completely convinced the rivalry is over. Hill spent 17 minutes meeting with van Gisbergen and NASCAR officials. Afterward, he was asked whether there would be any further fallout from the Chicagoland incident following the two drivers’ face-to-face discussion. His response wasn’t exactly overflowing with confidence.
“We spoke. Yeah, yeah, yeah, we had a conversation.”
That alone was notable.
Only days earlier, SVG had joked that talking to Hill wasn’t exactly easy, saying, “I’ll talk to him. But he just grunts.”
Now, both drivers have confirmed the conversation took place. What was actually said remains private, but the fact that Hill answered the follow-up question with “I sure hope so” rather than a definitive “yes” leaves the door slightly open.
The tension stems from last weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Chicagoland Speedway. On Lap 47, van Gisbergen drove deep into Turn 3 and slammed into the left-rear of Hill’s No. 33 Chevrolet. The hard hit sent Hill spinning into the outside wall, ruining his race.
Austin Hill wasn’t about to quietly head to the garage. Under caution, he drove his damaged car alongside van Gisbergen and intentionally sideswiped the No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet. It became the defining moment of the weekend. Yet, NASCAR reviewed both incidents and chose not to penalize either driver.
That decision sparked a massive debate in the garage. Many believe NASCAR is now letting drivers settle their own scores on the track.
The root of this rivalry goes back to Pocono. Hill pushed up the track during a tense three-wide battle, triggering a multi-car accident that collected SVG. Then, just two weeks before the Chicagoland race, Hill made a massive mistake on a restart at the Naval Base Coronado street race in San Diego. He caused a pileup that wrecked SVG.
Richard Childress was quick to point out that the Chicagoland incident from SVG’s side was a “payback for California.”
Now the focus shifts to EchoPark Speedway. Unlike Chicagoland, Atlanta’s pack-racing format forces drivers to race inches apart for hundreds of miles. One small misunderstanding can eliminate half the field in seconds. That makes unresolved rivalries especially dangerous.
Austin Hill insists he’s ready to move forward.
“So… we go race. And yeah, I am looking forward to it.”
Whether van Gisbergen feels the same won’t truly matter until both drivers find themselves side by side once the green flag drops. For now, Austin Hill says he believes the issue is behind them. He just isn’t willing to guarantee it.