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NASCAR driver Austin Hill has protested his innocence ahead of returning to Xfinity Series<\/a> action at Watkins Glen International.
<\/p>\n \nHill missed last weekend’s race at Iowa Speedway having been hit with a one-race suspension by NASCAR<\/a> after they deemed him to have intentionally wrecked Aric Almirola at Indianapolis Motor Speedway the week prior.
<\/p>\n \nHill had initially been held for five laps during the race at Indianapolis<\/a> but in the aftermath of the event, NASCAR reviewed the footage further, with a one-race suspension subsequently issued.
<\/p>\n \nDespite NASCAR’s decision, the 31-year-old claims he was innocent.
<\/p>\n \n\u201cI know that when I go to my grave way down the road that it wasn\u2019t done on purpose,\u201d Hill said on Friday, via NASCAR.com<\/a>. \u201cSo, I can at least take that with me.\u201d
<\/p>\n \nREAD MORE: NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying Today: Watkins Glen start time, TV channel and live stream<\/a>
<\/p>\n Almirola wreck a ‘racing incident’<\/p>\n \nElaborating further, Hill continued: \u201cFrom my standpoint, it was a full racing incident, full racing deal,\u201d
<\/p>\n \n\u201cI pleaded my case to NASCAR and everyone. I told [Peterson] everything that went down, showed him the SMT data, showed him that [Creed] and I were together before making contact with [Almirola].
<\/p>\n \n\u201cFrom my standpoint, it was fully unintentional. It wasn\u2019t one of those lose your mind moments and turn to the left. I feel like I\u2019m a smarter racer than that.
<\/p>\n \n“If I was mad about him getting into the back of me, I would have waited until Turn 1 and shipped him like he shipped me in Turn 3. That would have been it. I would have moved him out of the groove and went on.\u201d
<\/p>\n \nAric Almirola himself certainly disagreed with Hill on his assessment of what went down, with the experienced NASCAR driver telling The CW that it was deliberate<\/a> when speaking after the race at Indianapolis.
<\/p>\n \n\u201cIt was definitely intentional,\u201d Almirola told The CW. \u201cHe (Hill) blocked me three times.
<\/p>\n \n“I finally got him loose in turn three. He had damage on the nose, so he was really slow in the corners. It was time to go. I mean we\u2019re coming to nine to go and the leaders are starting to put a gap on us, so it\u2019s time to go.
<\/p>\n \n\u201cI got him loose and he just turned left and hooked me in the right rear.\u201d
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