Shane van Gisbergen and Austin Hill have had a multiple issues since the three-time Supercars champion arrived on the NASCAR scene.
In 2024, they tangled while battling for wins at COTA and Sonoma in the NASCAR O’Reilly Series. Earlier this year, SVG blamed Hill for wrecking him at both Pocono and San Diego, and the loss off points ultimately cost him a spot inside the 2026 NASCAR Cup Chase field.
NASCAR even had to sit the drivers down after Van Gisbergen wrecked Hill at Chicagoland in early July. SVG has called him a ‘spud’ and Hill’s team has mockingly referred to the Kiwi as ‘Van-Guggenheimer.’
Kansas featured the latest of many run-ins between these two Chevrolet drivers. Van Gisbergen cleared up in front of Hill while they were battling for position, and Hill hit the wall as Van Gisbergen slammed the door shut on him. A fiery radio exchange between Hill and his Richard Childress Racing spotter Derek Kneeland immediately followed, as you can see below:
Watch: Austin Hill argues with spotter during Kansas race
Kneeland told Hill to ‘settle down,’ and Hill shouted back: “What do you mean settle down!?”
Kneeland: “You can’t keep racing each other like this every week. We’re gonna have destroyed cars and no finishes. Whether he’s being the d*ck or we are, we’ve got to be able to finish. We’re decent, I know this run’s went to shit, but we’ve got to get it back together here. Just keep it together.”
Hill: “I don’t want to hear it! Honestly, I really don’t want to fricking hear from you! Just spot!”
Kneeland:” 10-4.”
Later on after a restart pileup, Kneeland was clearly frustrated and had some more choice words as he spoke with with the No. 33 crew chief on the radio.
“Piece of s*** but at least he listened to that,” said Kneeland after guiding Hill through the wreck. “I mean, listen, I got his back every f*******week but we cannot keep doing this every week. We’re going to have wrecked race cars and no finishes. I’m not a fan of the No. 97’s bulls*** either, but we cannot keep doing it.”
Hill went on to finish 26th in Sunday’s race, while SVG placed 24th in a difficult day for both drivers.
