TC Daily Pit Stop: NASCAR Grants Austin Hill Playoff Waiver Following Iowa Suspension; Honeycutt Fills in 2025 Truck Series Schedule After Niece Release
TC Daily Pit Stop: Wednesday, August 6th, 2025
Austin Hill Granted Playoff Waiver By NASCAR; Remains Eligible for Xfinity Championship
Austin Hill, who was forced to sit out of last weekend’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Iowa Speedway due to a suspension handed down from NASCAR following an incident with Aric Almirola at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, will officially be eligible to continue battling for a NASCAR Xfinity Series championship in 2025.
Hill, 31, was granted a Playoff Waiver by the sanctioning body according to a late-night report from NASCAR.com on Monday night.
However, due to new Playoff Waiver rules instituted in the offseason, Hill will forfeit the 21 Playoff Points he earned through the opening 21 races of the season, as well as any additional Playoff Points earned through the end of the Xfinity Series regular-season, as a trade-off for keeping his championship hopes afloat.
Hill, who has three victories this season, enters this weekend’s race at Watkins Glen International fifth in points, 122 points behind co-point leaders Connor Zilisch and Justin Allgaier.
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Kaden Honeycutt Named Interim Driver for Halmar Friesen Racing
It’s been a week full of news related to Kaden Honeycutt, who was released by Niece Motorsports after the 22-year-old racer landed a contract with a competing team and OEM for the 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season.
Honeycutt, who sits above the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoff cutline, needed to quickly come up with a plan to continue competing in the series in order to keep his championship hopes alive.
On Tuesday, Honeycutt announced a multi-faceted plan, which will see him compete in the remainder of the 2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule.
This weekend at Watkins Glen International, Honeycutt will pilot the No. 02 Young’s Motorsports Chevrolet before moving over to the No. 52 Halmar Friesen Racing Toyota for the remainder of the 2025 season, beginning with the event at Richmond Raceway.
Honeycutt will serve as the interim driver of the No. 52 Toyota, which was vacated by Stewart Friesen, who suffered an open-book fracture to his pelvis and a compound fracture in his right leg a week ago in a dirt race in Canada.
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Other NASCAR Headlines:
Honeycutt Release ‘Just Business’ Says Niece Motorsports GM Cody Efaw
Sawyer: Increase in Short Track Horsepower is “2026 Initiative”
Sugarlands, Field & Stream Partnering with Ty Dillon, Kaulig at Las Vegas
Brad Keselowski Falls Short of Iowa Victory, Finishes Third After Strong Day
Chase Briscoe Apologetic to Toyota Teammates After Iowa Runner-Up Finish
Wallace Makes Up Two Laps, Gains 26 Spots in Final Run to Finish 6th
NASCAR Power Rankings: Where All 36 Cup Drivers Stand After Iowa
Watkins Glen Weekend Resources:
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2025 NASCAR Season Resources:
Schedules: NASCAR Cup | NASCAR Xfinity | NASCAR Trucks
Driver Points: NASCAR Cup | NASCAR Xfinity | NASCAR Trucks
Owner Points: NASCAR Cup | NASCAR Xfinity | NASCAR Trucks
Rookie Standings: NASCAR Cup | NASCAR Xfinity | NASCAR Trucks
Manufacturer Standings: NASCAR Cup | NASCAR Xfinity | NASCAR Trucks
2025 Driver/Team Charts: NASCAR Cup | NASCAR Xfinity | NASCAR Trucks