CONCORD, N.C. — Sometimes, NASCAR drivers can only stand on pit road after the race and shake their heads in disbelief. This is something Austin Hill experienced on Saturday evening after a stunning engine issue eliminated him from the playoffs.
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Yet, he pointed to something other than the engine failure as the reason for his playoff run ending at the Charlotte Roval.
"The domino effect that happened once the middle of the season got here and everything that happened at (Indianapolis Motor Speedway) and all those things," Hill said on pit road after the race.
"Things started spiraling for us. We had some good races sprinkled in throughout there, but the majority of the races just wasn't great. We were just way too inconsistent."
What exactly happened to the Richard Childress Racing driver to derail what had been a promising day at NASCAR's home track? His engine suddenly lost power during the final stage of the pivotal playoff race.
Hill had passed Sammy Smith in the standings and started to chase down Taylor Gray after scoring 13 stage points.
Hill just needed to pass a couple more drivers to put himself in position to advance to the Round of 8. This didn't happen as his car suddenly lost power.
He went from being within mere points of the cutline in the final stage to finishing 21 points out of a playoff spot. Smith actually advanced over Gray after taking advantage of lucky timing on a pit stop and fresh tires.
"When it first happens, obviously you're going to get mad," Hill said in response to FanBuzz. "You're just mad that you're losing spots on the racetrack and it's nothing that you can control.
"After I ran two or three laps, I was like, 'Well, there's nothing I can do about it. I'm not going to sit there and point the finger at anyone.'"
As Hill began to fall through the field, the No. 21 team and owner Richard Childress frantically tried to diagnose the issue. They couldn't determine in the heat of the moment whether the engine had lost a cylinder or if a wire had simply come loose.
"This is the first time I've ever had an engine issue," Hill said. "Ever since being at RCR, ECR engines have always been great for me. I feel like they're still the top ones in the field. They make big power. It's just unfortunate."
Even as Hill explained why his No. 21 Chevrolet lost power, he still pointed back to his team's inconsistency in the opening round of the playoffs. He finished 19th at Bristol Motor Speedway without stage points and then finished third at Kansas Speedway with six stage points.
Hill also highlighted NASCAR penalizing him for wrecking Aric Almirola at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The competition officials suspended him for one race, which forced him to request a waiver to remain eligible for the playoffs.
Hill received this waiver, but he lost his 21 playoff points earned through three wins and six stage wins. He also lost another six points that he would have earned for finishing the regular season inside the top 10.
"I don't really look at the points thing that happened with us losing points," Hill said. "Yeah, obviously that played a factor tonight, but I just viewed it as we didn't have any points going into the playoffs. That was something that I didn't agree with, but it happened, right?
"So I put that behind me. And (the playoff opener at) Bristol just was not good. We ran outside of the top 15 all day. That got us really behind. Had a really good Kansas, but just wasn't good enough going into the Roval with getting a gap for a night like tonight."
Now that Hill is out of the playoffs, how does he move forward with the remaining four races? Does he just go through the motions now that he can no longer contend for the championship?
"I think we just go out there and win one of those races (at Las Vegas and Talladega) or both of them," Hill said. "Who knows? Martinsville, we won there before this year. There's a lot that we could still win.
"They would have to talk about you if you win the race. We'll just have to make them talk about us in a different way, not going for a championship, but just going for the win."
