NASCAR CUP SERIES
DARLINGTON RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES
APRIL 5, 2025
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.. 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 were 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.”
About General Motors
General Motors (NYSE:GM) is driving the future of transportation, leveraging advanced technology to build safer, smarter, and lower emission cars, trucks, and SUVs. GM’s Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC brands offer a broad portfolio of innovative gasoline-powered vehicles and the industry’s widest range of EVs, as we move to an all-electric future. Learn more at GM.com.
