With seven races left in the regular season, Shane van Gisbergen sits 14th in the standings with a 26-point cushion above the 16th-place playoff cutline. But every weekend, he shares the track with a driver who has absolutely nothing to lose.
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Austin Hill is not racing for a championship. He is part-time in the No. 33 Chevrolet at RCR, auditioning for a future. That is a very different headspace from SVG’s, and a very dangerous one to be racing against.
“It just builds up and results in threats of violence,” Shane van Gisbergen said. “It’s weird.”
The bad blood did not start at Chicagoland. These two have been grinding on each other since 2024 in the O’Reilly Series. It carried into the Cup this year. Pocono particularly got physical. San Diego, after that, was much worse. Hill triggered a restart wreck that ended SVG’s day, and SVG called him a “spud” on the radio afterward. Two weeks in a row, same guy, same outcome.
Chicagoland was the breaking point. Lap 47, Shane van Gisbergen tagged Hill’s bumper entering Turn 3. Hill spun into the wall. Car done with a 37th place finish. On the way back to the garage, Hill sideswiped SVG under caution, deliberate, in full view, with cameras rolling. Richard Childress himself called it payback for California. SVG said it was unintentional racing.
NASCAR reviewed everything, from the cameras to telemetry and radio. Then, nothing was issued. No fine or point deduction penalty. No suspension either. Senior VP Elton Sawyer said he understood the emotion behind Hill’s reaction. Both drivers got called into the hauler the following weekend for a closed-door meeting. Hill walked out composed. SVG, after having more questions than answers.
“I left confused,” SVG said. “I want to move on, but he’s not at that point.”
SVG knows exactly what this situation is. He said it himself, he has the most to lose, and Hill does not. That is not frustration talking. That is math. A retaliatory wreck costs Hill a bad finish in a part-time schedule.
For Shane van Gisbergen, one bad finish could be the difference between making the playoffs and going home. No fine from NASCAR means no real deterrent. Hill can come for him and walk away clean.
“There’s risk over these next seven races,” SVG said. “He’s probably going to try to threaten that. That kind of s–ks.”
SVG is not going to race dirty to protect himself. He plans to give Hill extra room on the track, race clean, and try to rebuild some respect. But he also said something important.
“I’m not going to back down or be threatened by someone. But I don’t want to fight anyone either.”
That is the trap he is in. He is trying to make the playoffs. Hill is trying to make a point. Those are not the same race, and right now, NASCAR has given Hill the freedom to run both.