CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NASCAR granted Austin Hill a waiver to remain eligible for the Xfinity Series playoffs after they suspended him for a race.

Photo by Dominic Aragon/TRE

NASCAR suspended Hill for intentionally wrecking Aric Almirola at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. As a result, Hill lost all of his playoff points and didn’t race at Iowa Speedway.

After missing Iowa, Hill is fifth in the regular season points standings. NASCAR rules specify you must attempt every race to remain playoff-eligible – so Hill needed that waiver to be locked into the playoffs on the strength of his wins this season.

Photo: Dominic Aragon/TRE

Although Hill can’t earn playoff points for himself, he can potentially take points away from other drivers with where he stands in points at the end of the regular season.

Currently, Hill is 52 points behind teammate Jesse Love and 28 points in front of Carson Kvapil. Brandon Jones, Sheldon Creed and Taylor Gray are also within striking distance of Hill on points. Jones is 32 points behind Hill, Creed is 39 behind and Gray is 54 behind in seventh through ninth in points.

NASCAR awards playoff points to the top-10 drivers in points at the end of the regular season. The regular season champion gets 15 playoff points, second gets 10, third gets eight, fourth gets seven, fifth gets six, sixth gets five, seventh gets four, eighth gets three, ninth gets two and 10th gets one playoff point.

While filling in for Hill, Austin Dillon started sixth but crashed after Ryan Sieg got loose while racing him on lap 2 of 250. Dillon took two free passes – on lap 91 and lap 215 – to get back on the lead lap and finish 14th.

MORE: Austin Hill suspended by NASCAR for Indy incident

Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.

A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.

Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick’s final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen’s stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers’ stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.

Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com