Richard Childress Racing's Austin Hill finished the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series regular season with three race wins, six stage wins, and a fifth place effort in the point standings.
The three race wins would have netted him 15 playoff points, the six stage wins would have netted him an additional six, and the fifth place points finish would have earned him six more for a total of 27.
That would have placed him behind only JR Motorsports teammates Connor Zilisch and Justin Allgaier, who scored 64 and 35, respectively.
Instead, the driver of the No. 21 Chevrolet is set to begin the three-round, seven-race playoffs at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday night with zero, placing him 12th of 12 drivers in the initial playoff standings and on the outside looking in when it comes to the provisional round of 8 playoff picture.
Austin Hill removed himself from top of NASCAR standings
The reason for the adjustment is the fact that Hill was suspended after he hooked Aric Almirola in the right rear at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in late July, even after he rejected the suggestion that the move was intentional.
Before the season began, NASCAR altered how they'd determine whether or not a driver should be given a playoff waiver for missing a regular season start.
It was established that a playoff waiver could still be issued to a suspended driver, but that driver, provided he did indeed still manage to qualify for the playoffs (which Hill had already done), would start the playoffs with no playoff points.
Only once the playoffs began could that driver resume earning playoff points.
So instead of sitting with 2,027 points, 22 points above the round of 12 cut line, Hill finds himself with 2,000, sitting five points below it ahead of Friday night's playoff opener at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Joe Gibbs Racing's Taylor Gray and JR Motorsports' Carson Kvapil are currently tied for the eighth and final provisional round of 8 spot, whereas they would be tied for the top spot below the cut line if not for Hill's penalty.
For Hill, he can effectively erase this deficit in the opening round by winning his way into the round of 8, and he can once again score playoff points by winning races and stages in this round.
However, he would still start the round of 8 with 27 fewer points than he would have had he not been suspended, as his 27 playoff points from the regular season are effectively gone for good.
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