On Lap 48 of 267, van Gisbergen drove into the back of Hill and tipped the #33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Camaro around.
Replays showed van Gisbergen go deep into Turn 3 and hit Hill squarely in the rear.
Hill spun and went backwards into the wall, shortening the rear of his car significantly. The damage was significant enough to take him out of the race.
Team owner Richard Childress said it was “just payback for California” over the radio, in reference to the San Diego crash.
“Somebody talk to NASCAR about that. That was blatant,” Childress added.
Speaking after the incident, Hill said he would leave it up to NASCAR to decide if the contact was intentional.
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“I’m sure y’all have seen the replay, so if I have to explain it, people probably need to get glasses,” said Hill.
Asked if it was payback, Hill replied, “I have no idea.”
“If there’s definitive evidence. So, I’m gonna leave it in NASCAR’s hands.
“I was entering the corner normal. Everyone blocks everybody’s air off [the corner], right? That’s the way these Cup cars are.
“I was just going down to block his air off and from my standpoint it just looked like he sped up. Who knows?”
Asked if they didn’t see eye-to-eye after their San Diego clash, Hill replied, “It’s Shane” and shrugged.
ANOTHER collision at @ChicagolndSpdwy 😳
SVG wrecks Austin Hill in the 33 👀 pic.twitter.com/aGRYpec6MJ
— TNT Sports U.S. (@TNTSportsUS) July 5, 2026
It’s unclear whether the clash was an act of redemption, but the two drivers have history.
Van Gisbergen was the victim of a clash with Hill at Pocono.
At San Diego, Hill triggered a multi-car pile-up that took van Gisbergen and his Trackhouse Racing teammate Connor Zilisch out of the contest.
In the days after that race, van Gisbergen labelled Hill a “spud” for causing the crash.
“Two weeks in a row taken out by the same spud,” he said in a post-race recap video.
“Unfortunately got taken out, so that sucked. Pretty gutted, everyone is. Both of us, Connor and myself, ended up wrecked. It happens.”
Even before graduating to the NASCAR Cup Series, van Gisbergen and Hill famously warred for the win at Sonoma.
Van Gisbergen beat Hill to victory in the 2024 race, which led to iconic scenes of the New Zealander performing a burnout next to his American rival.
Before Sonoma, they clashed at Circuit of the Americas. They battled cost them both victory as Kyle Larson beat them both to the win.
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