BIG ONE: NASCAR Race Suffers Harrowing Red-Flag Forcing Broadcast to Do the Unthinkable

On August 9, 2025, Austin Hill was a part of a serious collision at Watkins Glen International during the NASCAR Xfinity Series event. A huge pileup involving sixteen cars was caused by contact between Hill and Michael McDowell late in the race. The race was stopped for a long time by the wreck, which raised the red flag. “That was just on me. Driver error, just unfortunate, “In hindsight, I should’ve just lifted and gotten in line to fight for another corner,” Austin Hill said. 

Following a one-race suspension for an earlier incident at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he was penalized for what NASCAR determined to be a deliberate wreck of Aric Almirola, this crash marked Hill’s first race back. According to Hill, the interaction with Almirola was accidental. 

The race’s momentum was disrupted when the CW broadcast unexpectedly switched from live race action to an interview with the drivers involved in the crash. Especially McDowell and Austin Hill, immediately after they were out of the evaluations, this emphasized the wreck’s severity. Fans were enraged and frustrated by this abrupt change, and many of them expressed their outrage on social media about the incident and how it affected the event.

“Yeah, you know. I don’t want to say anything dumb because you didn’t tell you, go back and watch it all. But I felt like I got two good restarts there and was able to take the lead clean. I didn’t. I didn’t rough up the 21 at all. I didn’t feel like. But it just kind of felt like he kept trying to move me there into the carousel and and then there, you know, I can see here. I mean, he was never going to get alongside you there. I was out. He wasn’t even alongside, just turned me. So yeah, it’s unfortunate, I hate it,” Michael McDowell told CW Sports. After being evaluated, every driver who was a part of the Lap 75 incident was discharged from the infield care facility. Discussions over Hill’s aggressive driving style and its effects on the race have been rekindled by the Watkins Glen incident. Although no injuries have been reported as of yet, the matter is still being investigated.