NASCAR Truck Series: Who is to blame for Johnny Sauter vs. Austin Hill debacle?

Aside of Ross Chastain being stripped of what would have been his second victory of the 2019 NASCAR Truck Series season, the feud between Johnny Sauter and Austin Hill got all of the attention in the M&M’s 200 at Iowa Speedway. Who is to blame for this debacle?

On lap 137 of the 200-lap M&M’s 200 at Iowa Speedway that ultimately resulted in second place finisher Brett Moffitt of GMS Racing being declared the winner since the #44 Chevrolet of first place finisher Ross Chastain of Niece Motorsports failed post-race inspection, the second most talked about event of this race, the 10th of 26 races on the 2019 NASCAR Truck Series schedule, occurred.

Heading into turn three of the four-turn, 0.875-mile (1.408-kilometer) Iowa Speedway oval in Newton, Iowa, Hattori Racing Enterprises’ Austin Hill drove his #16 Toyota to the inside of the #13 Ford of ThorSport Racing’s Johnny Sauter, sending Sauter’s truck spinning into the wall.

Not even two laps later, Sauter, who had come into the pits, came back out on the track in his heavily damaged car, and he proceeded to wreck Hill. He spun him out, sent him into the wall and then slammed into the driver side door.

Here is a video of this debacle.

Austin Hill wrecks Johnny Sauter; Sauter retaliates under caution

Wow. Major drama between Johnny Sauter and Austin Hill in Iowa.

Posted by NASCAR on FOX on Sunday, June 16, 2019

NASCAR proceeded to park Sauter for the remainder of the race. He was officially scored in 27th place, extending his streak of consecutive finishes outside of the top 12 to four after he earned his first victory of the season at Dover International Speedway in early May. Hill, meanwhile, managed to salvage a solid 12th place finish, marking his fifth consecutive top 12 finish.

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As the video showed, this incident really began when Sauter got into the back of Hill to move him out of the way heading into turn one a few laps earlier.

With all things considered, both drivers undoubtedly contributed to this fiasco, but who is really to blame for how it turned out?

As for how the incident started, the move that Sauter put on Hill entering turn one looking like a racing move at first glance. That said, it could easily be perceived as dirty given how it nearly sent Hill into the wall, and Hill had a right to be upset. Did he have a right to retaliate?

Hill’s “retaliation”, if you even want to call it that, was similar to the move that Sauter put on him, but unfortunately for Sauter, Hill was deep and low enough into the corner that when the two trucks made contact, it got Sauter’s truck uncontrollably loose and sent him into the wall, ruining his race.

At this point, you could argue either way using three questions as a basis. Was Sauter’s initial move dirty? Was Hill’s retaliation over the top? Was Hill simply racing Sauter how Sauter raced him?

Fortunately for the sake of this argument, Sauter saved this half-and-half discussion from being needed. Unfortunately for both drivers, he turned what was already a disaster into an even worse disaster with a move that illustrated an unhinged frustration that NASCAR had a right to act against, and perhaps even that they have right to act against in terms of future punishment.

Sauter’s deliberate wrecking of Hill’s #16 Toyota, particularly the manner by which he approached it, was nothing like the moves that either driver previously put on the other, even considering the damage to Sauter’s #13 Ford from his Hill-forced spin.

Additionally, after spinning Hill out and sending him into the wall, Sauter proceeded to accelerate into the driver side door of Hill’s truck, a huge mistake when it comes to (a) how NASCAR viewed and will view the incident and (b) how the overall scenario will be perceived by literally everyone.

Not only that, but Sauter’s unhinged move took place under caution, and Grant Enfinger, Sauter’s own teammate and the current leader of the championship standings, had to slow down to avoid risking his #98 Ford while his teammate violently attempted to trash the #16 Toyota while effectively using his #13 Ford as a weapon.

I’m not going to get to the argument about whether or not NASCAR needs this kind of drama. That is a whole other topic that will never die down as long as NASCAR exists, period.

As for this particular incident, even if it is challenging to feel bad for Hill, which, in a way, it is, it’s not challenging whatsoever to feel absolutely no sympathy for Sauter given the cowardly way by which he executed his retaliatory plan.

Who is to blame for the debacle between 2019 NASCAR Truck Series race winners Johnny Sauter and Austin Hill during the third and final stage of the M&M’s 200 at Iowa Speedway? Do they both share in the responsibility?