During Stage 1, van Gisbergen got into the back of Hill entering Turn 3 and tipped the #33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Camaro into a spin.
Comments from team owner Richard Childress suggested the move was intentional and in retaliation for the incident at San Diego.
Van Gisbergen called Hill a “spud” in the aftermath of that crash, which came a week after being involved in another incident with Hill at Pocono.
Asked post-race if the contact was intentional, van Gisbergen offered a firm “no” to reporters in pit lane.
“I was shooting for the bottom trying to get clean air, I was so tight, and he just chopped my nose and got in the wall,” van Gisbergen said, recounting the clash.
“So, sorry about that. Sorry to his guys, they’re always nice people, and it happens.”
Secure your spot today.
Asked if he would try to speak with Hill, van Gisbergen said, “I’ll talk to him, but he just grunts.”
Jamie McMurray, who made nearly 600 starts in the NASCAR Cup Series, offered his assessment of the incident.
He presented data of van Gisbergen’s throttle trace that suggested the New Zealander had indeed driven deeper into the turn than in laps prior.
“Now obviously that’s driving in deeper and that’s the first thing that we looked at after I saw the wreck,” said McMurray.
“I have to give SVG a little bit of a shout-out because he didn’t say anything on the radio, and he didn’t say anything about being guilty, and that is the number one rule we tell everybody.
“As you look at that, it’s almost undeniable,” said McMurray of the data.
“Obviously he can [deny it] but when you see how much deeper he drove in… All you’ve got to do is go back and look at 50 other laps. They’re all lifting pretty close, right?
“There’s some tyre wear, you lift a little bit earlier, but lap-to-lap, you just typically don’t see that much difference.
“And then when you have the onboard footage to go with, it’s hard to argue.”
Was SVG’s collision with Austin Hill intentional? 👀@Dalejr and @JamieMcMurray took a look into it 🔎 pic.twitter.com/dUQvT9e1g4
— TNT Sports U.S. (@TNTSportsUS) July 6, 2026
The feud between van Gisbergen and Hill dates back to 2024 when they clashed at Circuit of the Americas in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (now NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series).
Dale Earnhardt Jr. said it was good to see a rivalry bubbling away.
“We talked about it in the race, the run-ins that they’ve had at Pocono and in the past, maybe even,” said Earnhardt Jr.
“San Diego could have factored into this, even though it was a mistake by Austin Hill, but I’m here for the battle between Austin Hill and SVG.
“That’s two big boys, and I do not want this to end. I like the fire on the racetrack. I like the fireworks.”
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