The story of SVG Austin Hill is not over yet. The two had another heated battle during the Xfinity Series race at Sonoma.
SVG, who was aiming for his second consecutive victory after his first pole win of the season, had no choice but to beat Hill on a late restart.
In what could be called a hard race or a bump-and-run, the driver of the #97 car threw caution to the wind and collided with the #21 RCR car during a delayed restart.
As a result, SVG took the lead late in the race. Meanwhile, Hill felt he was being treated unfairly. However, according to Dale Earnhardt Jr., van Gisbergen didn’t push himself too hard and went on to win his second race of the season. Instead, he highlighted the conditioning of the V8 Supercars drivers, which was evident during the battle between the two drivers at Sonoma.
Dale Earnhardt Jr explains why SVG’s aggression towards Hill wasn’t malicious
Sonoma is just one of the many venues where Shane van Gisbergen and Aystin Hill have met.
The roots of this new rivalry go back to a race at COTA earlier in the season, when the New Zealand speedster was beaten by Hill on a late restart and was the loser.
This opened the door for Kyle Larson to secure the win while he was busy exacting revenge on Austin Hill.
But last weekend the tables were turned and, looking to get back at him, the three-time Supercars champion made this aggressive move late in the race.
But this approach also has a lot to do with how he dominated the races in the V8 Supercars series. Dale Jr. justified the Kaulig Racing driver’s antics on the DJD podcast: “So SVG got out of the car and said, ‘You know what, I did it too, but now I can say I did it to both of us.’ And I thought, ‘That’s the etiquette that’s used in V8 Supercars, and I think it’s very fair, and I don’t think SVG has a problem with Austin Hill.’ Furthermore, Junior feels that it’s now evenly matched, considering that both drivers have won races against each other.
Furthermore, he doesn’t think there is a rivalry between the two drivers, pointing out that SVG still has room to improve and challenge other drivers on the ovals. “Are SVG and Austin Hill still arguing? It’s unlikely, because at the moment SVG is not Austin Hill’s kind of place on an oval.
So it probably won’t get any worse.”
In fact, SVG has been exceptional on road courses, except for the Circuit of the Americas, where he finished 27th. But he hasn’t yet shown his oval qualities, finishing in the top 15 on seven of the eleven ovals, but only leading one lap. Austin Hill, on the other hand, has impressed on several occasions in oval races.
He started the season with two consecutive wins at Daytona and Atlanta, and two fourth-place finishes at Las Vegas and Atlanta.
Furthermore, the championship race will be held at Phoenix, which is also an oval track, so the Richard Childress Racing driver seems to have the advantage.
It’s up for debate whether SVG Hill can provide the same handling on an oval track. But that doesn’t mean the Kaulig Racing driver won’t flaunt his dominance whenever possible.
Shane van Gisbergen’s celebration at Sonoma aimed at Austin Hill
We all know SVG has had a blast in Supercars and NASCAR. And the New Zealand speedster put on a similar show in Wine Country after his second Xfinity Series win.
However, Austin Hill was not impressed with his rival’s swagger and decided to give him the middle finger as he drove by. SVG initially wanted to host a Ken Block-style celebration for the fans, but after seeing Hill’s disrespectful attitude, he purposely aimed his post-race antics at Hill.
SVG confessed his feelings and what happened between the two during a NASCAR broadcast via Instagram, saying: So I thought, ‘This isn’t for the fans, this is for you.’ I followed him the whole lap. At one point, I drove past him and just waved. ‘
Austin Hill, however, refused to answer questions about the incident.
He did, however, say the following about the on-track incident: ‘I’ll let them find out what happened.’ I think my comments are valid no matter what I say.” It will be interesting to see how Austin Hill reacts to this treatment in the next race. Or maybe fans will have to wait for another road race to see the two drivers outdo each other and fight for the win.
