Shane van Gisbergen and Connor Zilisch retired from the Anduril 250 at the Coronado Naval Base on Sunday after Austin Hill caused a massive wreck during a restart. Fans bashed Hill for triggering the wreck in which nine cars got involved.
During the restart on Lap 32, Connor Zilisch, Austin Hill, and Shane van Gisbergen battled for the lead of the race. SVG considered making a move as he went three-wide alongside Hill & Zilisch, but decided against it and dropped back.
Going into Turn 1, Austin Hill, on the inside line, went wide, hit Connor Zilisch on his outside, who, as a result, slammed into the barrier. Shane van Gisbergen, who was directly behind Zilisch, slammed into the No.88 Chevrolet, and this began a chain reaction of crashes.
Fans blasted Austin Hill for the crash on social media platforms.
“Shoutout Austin Hill for being a usual terrorist. A disgrace that he’s Kyle Busch’s replacement,” a user commented.
Another wrote, “Austin Hill has to be parked for the rest of the season, what a joke of a driver!!”
“Austin Hill runs out of talent…..again,” another commented.
Hill replaced Kyle Busch at RCR after the two-time NASCAR Cup champion’s sudden death on May 21, 2026. Many fans mentioned that Hill doesn’t deserve the Cup seat.
“Austin Hill is the best case for a NASCAR licensing system, he should never be in Cup,” a user commented.
Another wrote, “Yea thank Austin Hill for running out of talent.”
“2 weeks in a row Austin Hill showing how garbage he is. Trash!” Another mentioned .
Zilisch, Hill and van Gisbergen were able to safely get out of the car without any major injuries, but Zilisch was seen limping after the hard impact. The other drivers involved in the Lap 32 crash were Ty Gibbs, Riley Herbst, Michael McDowell, William Byron, Joey Logano and Daniel Suarez.
Shane van Gisbergen and Connor Zilisch react to the massive wreck instigated by Austin Hill at Coronado
Connor Zilisch was in the lead of the race before Brent Brews in the No.20 brought out the caution, whereas Shane van Gisbergen took the pole position and was the favorite to take the win. Unfortunately, both the Trackhouse drivers were taken out during the Lap 32 crash.
Reacting to the crash, Shane van Gisbergen said,
“Yeah, real shame. Red Bull Chevy was unreal fast, once the track kind of rubbed it up and yeah, real shame. It’s kind of come good now. The track kind of came alive and rubbed it up, and I think we went fast in qualifying.”
“Ask the next guys,” said SVG when questioned about the cause of the crash
“I don’t really know. I just saw it. It’s unfortunate for us. Our car was really fast today, both Shane and I collectively. When you have a chance to go and win a race, and you’re in a prime spot, and you get put in a position like that, it’s extremely tough. I really hate it for everyone at Trackhouse. Red Bull, this was a huge weekend for us and to have both cars out is really unfortunate,” said Connor Zilisch as he reacted to the DNF.
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The caution was upgraded to a red flag as the barrier that Connor Zilisch slammed into required repairs, and the track had to be swept to remove the debris.
