As far as Almirola is concerned, Austin Hill has become a disruptive presence in NASCAR. Weeks after their infamous clash at Indianapolis that cost Hill a penalty, getting him suspended for a race and losing all regular-season playoff points, Hill seems to have repeated the damage again, for Almirola. Though Hill might have ended his race, this time, he might not be the sole reason for Friday’s Daytona struggles for Almirola.

Almirola had to end his race one lap early as the final lap saw him get involved in a wreck and finish P24. The Daytona havoc got to him despite maintaining a good speed throughout. Almirola opened up post the race speaking about the multiple challenges he faced about racing on the superspeedway, something he’s not very happy about.

Almirola explains how his race spiraled downwards

To tell the truth, he wasn’t directly punted, but the multi-car wreck looked like it started from the no. 21’s nudge on Almirola’s no. 19, making him one of the innocent victims of a classic big one. He told motorsports journalist Matt Weaver, “I honestly have no idea. I was kind of running the middle and I think somebody above me got loose. I’m not sure who, might have been the #21. He got into my right side and we crashed. Man, that was a pretty crappy day for us.”

It was a shame, too, because Almirola felt that his car was pretty quick up until that point. He then explained the damage from the first wreck, “The toe was all knocked out of it, the rear end was bent and track bar was bent.” Despite that, his #19 Toyota was still quick, but then the second and final wreck killed his chances. The bummed out driver noted, “Lot of crashing, typical speedway stuff, I hate that. You feel a little bit like a kamikaze pilot sometimes. Especially when you’re not quite fast enough or good enough to control the lanes. Be on offence when you really feel like you’re on defence all the time.”

Almirola specifically expressed frustration over the chaos of superspeedway racing, where wrecks can spoil the day unpredictably. Despite his car being competitive after the first incident, subsequent accidents ended his race, leaving him feeling trapped in a defensive battle rather than being able to race aggressively.

When asked about how superspeedways are a risky arena where there’s a 50-50 chance of things going sideways, Almirola said, “Our cars just aren’t quite where they need to be, to be aggressive and manipulate the lanes and do all the things you need to do to be a successful speedway racer. That makes it a little bit harder, we’re working hard on it, everybody at the shop is working really hard.” However, Almirola was quick to move past that and look ahead to the next few races.

Almirola declared, “But I’m excited about the next few races I have. Gateway and Bristol are coming up, those are really awesome race tracks. Looking forward to going there with these Joe Gibbs Racing guys and getting back up front running like we normally do…That’s what I love about racing with these guys, they bring the best up to the race track every week.”

Almirola declared, “We’re working hard on it, everybody at the shop is working really hard. That’s what I love about racing with these guys, they bring the best up to the race track every week and I’m very optimistic about Gateway and Bristol, and we’ll move on. I’m excited about the next few races I have. Gateway and Bristol are coming up, those are really awesome race tracks. Looking forward to going there with these Joe Gibbs Racing guys and getting back up front running like we normally do.” 

His positive words for his team show that he recognizes the efforts of the team to push everyone to do their best. This optimistic outlook reflects his resilience and confidence to come back stronger in the upcoming races.

Austin Hill’s havoc continues

The way it’s going, Austin Hill has developed a bit of a reputation for causing wrecks, whether intentional or not. It started in July at Indianapolis. Almirola and Hill were battling for fourth, and that is when Almirola got Hill loose entering Turn 3. Hill’s No. 21 slid sideways, but he somehow managed to save himself. Not even seconds later, Hill steered left and rammed into Almirola’s right-rear quarter panel, with the contact sending both spinning. “It was definitely intentional,” Almirola said post the race. “He blocked me three times. I finally got him loose in (Turn) 3.”

NASCAR clearly did not approve of the stunt, and as a result of the same, Hill was slapped with a one-race suspension to reflect on his actions. Clearly, the reflection didn’t take place when he came back after the suspension.

This is because later at Watkins Glen, Hill, once again, triggered a multi-car accident after hooking Michael McDowell into the wall. Luckily for him, NASCAR ruled it a genuine accident, and no one was to blame. And now, history repeats itself yet again when Almirola becomes his victim in quick succession. Only time will tell whether he faces any repercussions for this one.