“You’re Getting the Death Penalty!” Denny Hamlin Slams Shane van Gisbergen Over Outrageous Austin Hill Chicago Wreck

The NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday at Chicagoland witnessed some wild crashes and wrecks. Trackhouse Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen wrecking Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill early in the race was the most talked about incident of the day. Joe Gibbs Racing veteran Denny Hamlin, like many, was very critical about the Kiwi over the incident.

On the latest episode of the Actions Detrimental podcast, the JGR driver asserted that SVG wrecking Hill was more egregious than the Zane Smith–Carson Hocevar incident from earlier in the day. He asserted that the Supercars champion deserves punishment, hasher than what Ryan Preece got when he wrecked Ty Gibbs at Texas.

SVG’s looked far more aggressive [than Zane Smith wrecking Carson Hocevar earlier in the race]. When he thought that Ryan Preece committed murder on Ty Gibbs, I don’t know, this was … what’s above murder. Yeah, premeditated, that’s a harsher sentence. You’re getting the death penalty.

Denny Hamlin said on his podcast.

The veteran racer asserted that there was clear intent from Shane van Gisbergen to wreck Austin Hill in the race, most probably as retaliation owing to their past run-ins. Denny Hamlin backed his argument with SMT data and asserted that NASCAR at the moment has a tough decision to make in terms of penalties.

They’re one and the same, but SVG’s looked bad. I said last week that the data shows intent. The data would argue that SVG went into the corner with no intent to slow up. It’s not like there was a hole there… If you’re SVG, you’re NASCAR in a really, really tough position, given the comps of what has happened in these situations before.

Denny Hamlin added via Actions Detrimental.

Later the three times Supercars champion talked about potential punishment coming the way of Hill. The No:33 Chevy too revenge on the No:97 Chevy by door slamming him during the yellow flag, going against the advice from his team. NASCAR has never left such moves slide in the past and he expects the sanctioning body to remain consistent.

Yeah, that’s one where NASCAR definitely doesn’t screw around too much with contact under yellow and shit like that.

Denny Hamlin asserted.

Shane van Gisbergen takes a sarcastic dig at Austin Hill and Richard Childress

SVG was clearly not happy with Hill’s actions and talking to the media after the race he took a sardonic dig at the RCR driver, and his team who accused him of payback. He sarcastically apologized the for the incident, claiming the Chevy side has always beef nice to him on the track, fuelling the beef between the two that started in 2024, back in the second division.

I was shooting for the bottom trying to get clean air, I was so tight, and he just chopped my nose and got in the wall. So, sorry about that. Sorry to his guys, they’re always nice people, and it happens.

Shane van Gisbergen said via Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic.

The comments from the racer shows he has no plans to stop fighting back against Hill over the aggressive moves and it seems the Kiwi racer has fully embraced the payback culture in NASCAR. It would be interesting to see how the remaining races of the season is going to playout for the duo in 2026.

Also Read: Tommy Baldwin Blasts Carson Hocevar for “Driving Like a Lunatic”