Riley Herbst, No. 98 team rip Austin Hill after Kansas wreck: 'He's a hack'

To end Stage 2 at Kansas Speedway, Riley Herbst went through the grass on the frontstretch, courtesy of Austin Hill in the No. 21. Herbst was far from happy with his NASCAR Xfinity Series peer.

Riley Herbst was running a solid race until he was sent spinning by Austin Hill. It was a mental mistake from Hill, who told his team to try and apologize to the Stewart-Haas Racing driver.

Here is the incident on the track.

On the last lap of Stage 2, the Nos. 21 and 98 make contact that sends @rileyherbst spinning. pic.twitter.com/dPAVSCODYu

— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) September 28, 2024

This is what Riley Herbst had to say after the incident, via Dustin Albino of SiriusXM NASCAR.

“I run him down from a straightaway back, pass him cleanly and what does he do? He wrecks me,” Herbst said. His team concurred, “Yeah, he’s a hack.”

"I run him down from a straightaway back, pass him cleanly and what does he do? He wrecks me" Riley Herbst says of Austin Hill.

"Yeah, he's a hack" the No. 98 team responds.

Herbst isn't pleased. #NASCAR

— Dustin Albino (@DustinAlbino) September 28, 2024

Good news, Riley Herbst is running P10 with 65 laps to go in the Kansas race. He is still positioned to have a solid points day and be in good position to make it to the Round of 8 if he can get through Talladega cleanly.

Herbst’s teammate Cole Custer is trying to make it two in a row. He has been working on Chandler Smith throughout the race and is hoping to take the Joe Gibbs Racing driver down. Custer winning a second race in a row would send a clear message to the rest of the playoff drivers.

It has been four races since Herbst was in the top-10. The last time he finished better than P13 was at Daytona when he crossed the line P4 overall. His race at Kansas is not over. A restart or two will likely give him a shot at making a run for the top-5. That is where Austin Hill is running with 65 laps to go.

Riley Herbst fighting for playoff life

With only a three-point buffer on the cutline, Riley Herbst entered this race in a precarious position. The good news is that he is running near the front, but so are many playoff drivers this afternoon.

The final green flag pit stop of the day and the last 50 laps are going to decide not only the winner of this race but how the playoff field looks going into next week. If you get in a hole at Kansas, then Dega could be the nail in the coffin for your Round of 8 hopes.

Austin Hill has a history of aggressive driving. I think this was a mental mistake. He wasn’t paying much attention to the 98 in front of him as he was watching other cars in the area racing each other, and got into the back of Herbst.

Today is more difficult for Riley Herbst after this incident, but his day is not over. Herbst is still in this race and is still going to have a shot at a top-5 finish.