Riley Herbst has hit out hard at Austin Hill after a dramatic accident at Kansas Speedway threatened his playoff ambitions. During the event, Austin Hill in the No. 21 car caused Herbst to spin into the grass on the front stretch, ruining a promising race for Herbst. Hill admitted his guilt, acknowledged the mistake and planned to apologize through his team.

However, Herbst's reaction was clear:

“I run right at him from behind, hand him over cleanly and what does he do? He's destroying me.” His team was equally open and called Hill a “hack.”

The accident occurred with 65 laps to go when Herbst was in P10. Meanwhile, his teammate Cole Custer was looking for consecutive victories, battling against Joe Gibbs Racing's Chandler Smith. Hill had been running in the top five before this mistake.

Austin Hill, driver of the #21 Bennett Transportation Chevrolet, speaks with Riley Herbst, driver of the #98 Monster Energy Ford, after the NASCAR Xfinity Series Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway on September 28, 2024…


Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Herbst entered the race in Kansas with a precarious lead of three points over the playoff cutoff. With no top-10 finishes in the last four races – his last was a fourth-place finish at Daytona – Kansas was crucial to Herbst's Round of 8 ambitions, especially with the unpredictable Talladega race ahead. Despite the setback, Herbst showed his strength, continued in the race and aimed for a top 5 finish. It was predicted that the final green flag pit stops and final 50 laps would be crucial not only in determining the Kansas winner, but also the playoff standings.

Austin Hill's aggressive driving behavior has been observed before, and this incident shows a repeated pattern. However, Hill's admission of a “mental error” offered some measure of responsibility. Still, the damage to Herbst's playoff hopes is palpable.

Herbst's direct response made his frustration clear. “Yes, he's a hacker.” Herbst's disappointment was obvious, considering that a potentially solid target had been within reach before the crash.

Kansas' outcome remains crucial to Herbst's playoff journey. The final laps will determine whether he can limit the damage and secure enough points to maintain his position.

Status of 2024 Xfinity drivers at the time of writing

  1. Justin Allgaier
  2. Cole Custer
  3. Austin Hill
  4. Chandler Smith
  5. Shane van Gisbergen
  6. Jesse Love
  7. Sam Mayer
  8. Riley Autumn
  9. Sheldon Creed
  10. AJ Allmendinger
  11. Sammy Smith
  12. Parker Kligerman
  13. Ryan Victory
  14. Brandon Jones
  15. Anthony Alfredo
  16. Brennan Poole
  17. Josh Williams
  18. Leland Honeyman
  19. Parker Retzlaff
  20. Jeremy Clements
  21. Jeb Burton
  22. Ryan Ellis
  23. Kyle Weatherman
  24. Kyle Victory
  25. Ryan Truex
  26. Matt DiBenedetto
  27. Blaine Perkins
  28. Aric Almirola
  29. Carson Kvapil
  30. Josh Bilicki
  31. Hailie Deegan
  32. Garrett Smithley
  33. Austin Green
  34. Patrick Emerling
  35. Joey Gases
  36. David Starr
  37. Joe Graf Jr
  38. BJ McLeod
  39. Jordan Anderson
  40. Ed Jones
  41. JJ Yeley
  42. Connor Zilisch
  43. Nick Leitz
  44. Logan Bearden
  45. Wise Karam
  46. Caesar Bacarella
  47. Alex Labbe
  48. Dale Earnhardt Jr
  49. Brad Perez
  50. Bubba Pollard
  51. Natalie Decker
  52. CJ McLaughlin
  53. Chad Finchum
  54. Justin Bonsignore
  55. Patrick Gallagher
  56. Conor Daly
  57. Greg Van Alst
  58. Thomas Annunziata
  59. RC Enerson
  60. Myatt Snider
  61. Preston Pardus
  62. Dexter Bean
  63. Nathan Byrd
  64. Daniil Kvyat
  65. Andre Castro
  66. Glen Reen
  67. Boris said
  68. Carson Ware
  69. Mike Skeen
  70. Armani Williams
  71. Morning Baird
  72. Timothy Viens
  73. Ryan Vargas
  74. Gus Dean
  75. Alon day