Controversial NASCAR driver sparks horrific mass car wreck on return from suspension over past crash

The NASCAR Xfinity Series Mission 200 descended into chaos after one driver sparked a massive car wreck on Saturday afternoon.

In worrying scenes at Watkins Glen International, Austin Hill attempted to pull up alongside Michael McDowell as they battled for second place on Lap 74.

However, the two cars ended up colliding after they both ran wide, with McDowell's car slamming into the guardrail before spinning out into the middle of the track.

The crash had major knock-on effects for the rest of the drivers who were unable to slow down in time, and, in the end, over a dozen drivers were affected.

The red flag was quickly displayed and lasted for over 45 minutes as officials repaired the guardrail and dragged several cars away from the incident.

Afterwards, McDowell aimed at Hill for his role in the crash. He said: 'He turned me for sure. I mean, there is no way he was gonna get alongside me.

'I got around him cleanly on those restarts, and there at the end, like I said, I'll have to get a better view of it. But to me, he wasn't alongside me. Just got to my rear bumper, turned me sideways.

'I'm not talking like he intentionally hooked me. He doesn't need a penalty for that. Just, there was no way he was gonna finish the pass there, and he just made a decision not to lift and to turn me.

Hill swiftly responded. Explaining his perspective of the crash, he said: 'Just two guys going for it. Nothing malicious, as much as everybody wants to sit there and try to make it more than it is. It was just two guys racing it out.

'I was trying to get by the 88 [Connor Zilisch] as quickly as I could because the 88 was driving away from u,s, and I thought that we could maybe have a shot at racing with him and racing for the win there. I had a massive run off the Carousel. I kind of thought I was trying to catch [McDowell] off guard and get to his left side.

'The grass was coming up in front of us. I had to get to the right. I was kind of hoping he was going to move to the right and kind of give me some room, and it just didn't happen.

'But if everyone wants to blame me for it, I'll take the blame for it. I mean, I could have lifted and lived to fight another corner, and unfortunately, that's not what happened, and it wrecked a lot of race cars.

'So didn't want to come back from what we had going on the last two weeks and have this happen, but heck, it's racing. I mean, things like this are going to happen.'

The incident comes just one week after Hill returned from a suspension for causing a crash at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Hill was served the temporary ban after colliding with Aric Almirola and sending his rival into the outside wall.

The suspension meant that Hill lost all 21 playoff bonus points in a major hit to his title shot.

Elsewhere on the day, NASCAR driver Connor Zilisch broke his collarbone in a post-race victory celebration that went wrong.

The promising 19-year-old driver won the NASCAR Xfinity Series Mission 200 in Watkins