RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING PHOTO
Austin Hill, driver of the No. 33 United Rentals Chevrolet and the No.
21 Bennett Transportation Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, met
with the media in advance of running double duty in the NASCAR Cup and
Xfinity Series at Darlington Raceway.
How would you describe the tone of the meeting with NASCAR?
“I would say the tone of the meeting was firm, but they got their
point across and they did it in a really good way. So I think that was
good for everyone in the series to hear, you know, the different sides
of it with all three that were in there.
A lot of great things were said about what we could do better going
forward. I stand strongly on the side of — for whatever reason, when
the Xfinity Series go to Martinsville, we just lose our minds. But
everywhere else, we’re the best racing in NASCAR and I strongly stand
behind that. We are the best series in NASCAR. Just when you go to
Martinsville, we look like we don’t know what we’re doing.
So, we’re going to get through it. We have, whatever it is, seven or
eight months before we go back to Martinsville. I’m hoping a lot of
things, you know, change between now and then.
I don’t think that just one meeting is going to change the outcome of
the playoff race in Martinsville. So, you know, it might be one of those
cases where we need to have multiple meetings throughout the year just
to reiterate some of the stuff. Even if things aren’t happening on the
racetrack, even if it’s just a — say we’re all racing clean and we’re
all doing the right things, but I think we got to keep it in everyone’s
head that, you know, race the way you want to be raced and race with
respect, and I thought that that’s kind of where we ended the
conversation today and I thought it was all great.”
As a veteran in the series, what do you see your role in doing this and
taking sort of a stance for people that might be in their first year in
the series?
“Yeah, so Justin Allgaier and I had a really great conversation
outside of the tent. Once he got done talking to you guys and all,
we’re walking back and I stopped him, and we had a really good
conversation. I think that him and I can both bring some really great
things to the table. You know, Justin’s very respected on the racetrack
and but he’s also super aggressive but he does it in a sneaky way. It’s
kind of crazy to watch how he does it sometimes. He’s super aggressive
but he does it in a good way.. in a sneaky way.
I’m on the other end, where I’m super aggressive and, you know, you push
on me, I push on you, that type of thing and it just is what it is. I
try to handle my business on the racetrack and after the race is over.
I’ve done so many things wrong in my career up until this point and I
felt like from, you know, last year into this year, I’ve kind of changed
my mind set a little bit on just getting out of the car and talking to
the media and just saying random things. Like there’s so many things
that I would love to go back and take back that I’ve said throughout my
career, but you can’t go back and change it, right? You can just move
forward and so that’s what I’m doing.
I’m kind of taking a different role on things that I say outside of the
race car versus things that I do inside the race car. In saying all
that, I think that Justin and I can bring a lot to the table on trying
to lead the Xfinity Series. I think that him and I, both being veterans
of the sport, he has different ways of looking at it than what I do but
I think that we both can kind of bring our own perspective in a way and
kind of reach both, you know, eras of drivers, as far as the super
aggressive ones and maybe the ones that race extremely clean, whatever.
I think that him and I can give a lot of feedback to the drivers.”
Some people were somewhat critical of the way you drove in that race.
Last week you said the one thing you felt bad about was wrecking, the
wreck that got Jesse (Love). After looking. did you see anything else
that you feel like you need to feel bad about?
“No — so I said this in the meeting, actually. In our meeting that we
just had; they opened it to the floor. Justin (Allgaier) spoke first and
I spoke second on some of the areas that we need to do a better job of
or where we stand or where we feel like we stand. I basically said kind
of the same thing I was just saying a second ago — race the way you
want to be raced. I said look — if you go in there and you are lifting
somebody’s rear tires off the ground four or five different times and
you’re not wrecking them but you’re using them as a brake pedal and
you’re knocking them out of the way, out of the groove, to get by them
and you’re doing it on entry.. if you’re doing it across the middle of
the corner, you’re faster than that guy. No one should get mad if that
guy kind of gives you a little shot across the middle of the corner.
That’s ‘rubbin’ is racing’ at its finest. That’s Martinsville.
That’s the ‘bump and run’ type thing. But if you’re just going in
there and you’re using that guy as a brake pedal and it’s eight tires
are better than four and you’re lifting the rear tires off the ground,
and that happens four or five, six times with the same guy, eventually
that guy’s going to break and he’s not going to put up with it anymore.
I will say this, too, I completely misjudged getting into the back of
the No. 16 (Christian Eckes). You can go back and listen to my interview
after Martinsville. Right when I got into the No. 16, I got free with
the rear tires and I was starting to like wheel hop. So then I got off
the brake pedal for a second, I got back to it, and I didn’t realize
that the No. 16 was already really tight to the No. 2 (Jesse Love) and
the No. 2 was really tight to the No. 1 (Carson Kvapil) and it just
caused a chain reaction. So yeah, I felt really bad about the situation
and how it went down. Looking back at it, I probably would have waited
an extra corner and done things a little differently, but I would have
at least gave the No. 16 a little bit of a nudge and shot him up the
racetrack into the second or third lane to show like — hey man, you’ve
lifted my rear tires off the ground four or five different times now,
I’m not going to put up with it. Somebody else on the racetrack might
put up with it, but I’m not.
And then other thing — I mean I didn’t really get into, there was no
other real contact that really happened between me or anyone else, other
than the No. 1 cut across my nose down the front stretch and I went as
far left as I wanted to and I finally just straightened up the wheel and
I’m like, I’m not turning left no more, and he kind of drove across my
nose. I could have lifted in that instance but he had already blocked me
three or four different times. So again, if you block me three or four
different times, at some point I’m not just going to keep turning left
and let you keep that spot. So I stand strongly on how the race went, as
far as my part in it. I completely misjudged the No. 16 mishap and I
wish I wouldn’t have taken the No. 2 and the No. 1 out. But that was, I
mean honestly, that was just a racing error on my part.”
You say that Martinsville is its own kind of animal, but this is your
only trip to Darlington this year as opposed to two, so do you think
there will be any more urgency here today?
“I don’t think so. Just because of it being a bigger racetrack, you
know, it’s a mile and whatever — I think that us having the meeting,
the drivers talking amongst themselves.. I mean I’ve had great
conversations with everyone at Kaulig Racing. We had a conversation with
RCR and Kaulig. We all got together down at Welcome, and we really feel
strongly about the ‘One Welcome’ thing. Like it’s a real thing and
so we all hashed it out. We talked about it. We had everyone in there
talking about the situation, and I thought it was a great conversation
to be had. I think it’s going to help us propel forward into being more
of that ‘One Welcome’ scenario. And I think that all the other
drivers that have talked.. I’ve talked to Justin after the meeting. He
said he had a great conversation with all of his JR Motorsports drivers,
Sammy Smith and all those guys, and so I think it’s going to calm down a
lot more than you think today. We’ll have to wait and see but I think
today is going to be a very — we’re all going to be still aggressive
and trying to win the race but it’s going to be a very respectful
race.”
If last week was over the line, then how is it going to be judged when
we go to Martinsville in October, knowing likely that one spot will
likely get you into the Championship Four?
“Well, NASCAR made it very, very clear that they don’t want to be in
the ‘ball and strike’ business. They don’t want to be making all
these calls. So they said for us to help them with that. They also said
that if they had to step in and start making calls, black flagging
people, parking people and doing all those things, that they’ll do it.
So I agree with what NASCAR’s stance is at but I also think that we as
the Xfinity Series have to do a better job going forward when we go back
to Martinsville and not put it in NASCAR’s hands.
We don’t want NASCAR to get involved and to have to make these ‘ball
and strike’ calls. We don’t want that as drivers. We want to be able
to race and beat and bang and do all these things but do it in a
respectful way. So there’s a lot of things that we all got to look in
the mirror, even myself included. We all as drivers have to look in the
mirror and figure out what we can do to move forward and not have NASCAR
get involved.”
Are you excited about your first start here in Darlington in the Cup
Series? I looked at your five race schedule. Chicago Street Course is on
there. Why did you pick that particular one?
“A lot of it was sponsor driven. I did make a comment that I wanted to
run a road course. I want to run Watkins Glen, honestly, but at the end
of the day, United Rentals (Chicago) is just a great venue for them and
all that. So Chicago just ended up being the place. I had some really
good success at Chicago last year, so being able to go back there for a
second time is going to be great. I was able to run the Cup race there,
and it was raining, then it stopped raining and it got dry. We were
running like 12th or something towards the very end of the race and
ended up getting taken out and getting into turn one. I think it’s going
to be one of those races that we can do well at. Darlington has been one
of these racetracks that I’ve been so close to many times on the Xfinity
Series and the Truck Series at winning here and I’ve missed it by one
spot multiple times. I really was strongly about wanting to come to
Darlington and it ended up just working out.
And then obviously, United Rentals and RCR wanted me to do some
superspeedway stuff. The Cup Series is so much different when you’re
superspeedway racing versus the Xfinity side, just the way the cars
drive and the way the drag is and all those sorts of things. I’ve been
wanting to do some type of short track, and so Bristol was one of those
places that they picked that they just thought was a good place for us.
So yeah, I think I have a really good schedule for the five races. I’m
going to learn a lot. A lot of different racetracks that we go to, so
different techniques and everything that have to be shown. I’m excited
to get in the Cup car today and see what we can do with our No. 33
United Rentals Chevrolet.”