The grandstands went silent for a split second, then erupted into disbelief. One crash changed everything. Sometimes being in the right place at the right time makes your race, and Richard Childress’s drivers know it all too well. Lady Luck seemed to be on their side as chaos erupted at the United Rentals 300 at Daytona. Early in the race, the RCR drivers kept their noses clean, and after a massive wreck that took out most of the field, Jesse Love and Austin Hill still found themselves very much in the mix. And the fans could not help but grow more annoyed at the situation.
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The chaos unfolded around lap 100 when Corey Day made a bump-and-run on Dale Jr.’s William Sawalich in Turn 3, which backfired spectacularly. Instead of just nudging Sawalich forward, the contact triggered a massive pileup, collecting several contenders racing in the middle of the pack.
Drivers like Taylor Gray, Carson Hocevar, Daniel Dye, and both Jeb Burton and Harrison Burton were all swept up with Kyle Sieg, who was also caught up in the melee.
Throughout the restart sequences that followed, Hill and Love maintained a commanding presence at the front of the field.
And by lap 115, Hill was credited as the race leader, and Love was locked into the top five.
Bump gone wrong from Corey Day to William Sawalich to trigger that big wreck.
Taylor Gray, Carson Hocevar, Daniel Dye, Jeb Burton, Harrison Burton, Kyle Sieg all pile in. #NASCAR
— Dustin Albino (@DustinAlbino) February 15, 2026
Hill consistently chose the bottom lane for restarts, while Love meant to utilize the top line with assistance from drifting partners like Sammy Smith, who had a tough night already, and Carson Kvapil.
The ability to avoid the Turn 3 chaos not only preserved their cars but also positioned both drivers as serious contenders for the final laps, highlighting the importance of track position and situational awareness on superspeedways.
But as the duo benefited from the wreck, the fans weren’t shy about their reaction.
Fans slam Austin Hill amid wreck-filled race
The fallout from the race had seen fans once again beating the mix of skill and fortune at the front of the pack, with Austin Hill squarely in the crosshairs.
One fan quipped, “How much help does Austin Hill (luckiest driver in the history of racing) need???,” summing up a sentiment that Hill’s recent streak of clean escapes and front-running positioning has some questioning how much of a success is luck versus talent.
For these viewers, his ability to avoid wrecks and stay in contention feels almost supernatural.
Others framed the story as part of a large narrative between teams, particularly the rivalry between Richard Childress Racing and the rest of the field.
A fan wrote, “RCR cars vs the O’Reilly field. The greatest rivalry in all of sports.”
The dominance in tight superspeedway racing seems to generate both admiration and frustration, especially when it reshuffles a pack and leaves midfield contenders caught in multicar incidents.
Frustrations over his fortune were made even more pointed by fans further down the social feed.
One fan vented, “Everyone in the field tonight except for Austin and Jesse.”
For critics like this, Hill’s knack for staying clear of wrecks while others take heavy damage feels unfair, even conspiratorial, highlighting the poised nature of his current run of success.
Another fan made a bold yet very sharp threat, venting, ” Nothing would make me happier than to see Austin Hill’s YEARS of LUCK run out, and he get injured in one of these.”
Others even warned about the consequences of such luck, saying, “One of these days his luck will run out, and he’ll have to rely on skill which he doesn’t have.”
In the eyes of many fans, Hill embodies the luck-versus-skill debate, leaving a trail of admiration, resentment, and heated discussion across social media.