Beard Motorsports has opted to not enter Sunday’s YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, despite originally being scheduled to compete in the event with Austin Hill, TobyChristie.com has confirmed with a representative from the team.
The organization, which has fielded a part-time entry in the NASCAR Cup Series since 2017, says the decision to not compete was made in order to allow Hill an off-weekend, giving him a break, and a chance to better prepare and focus on his Xfinity Series efforts.
A native of Winston, Georgia, Hill is currently in the midst of a close-knit fight for the championship in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, where he competes full-time for Richard Childress Racing in the No. 21 Chevrolet.
Winning the regular-season championship by five points over John Hunter Nemechek, Hill has had a career year in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, boasting a stat line with four victories, 15 top-fives, 20 top-10s, and a series-leading average finish of 8.9.
Austin Hill and the Beard Motorsports No. 62 Chevrolet will return to the NASCAR Cup Series for the October 8 event at Charlotte Motor Speedway’s ROVAL — the Bank of America ROVAL 400.
The 29-year-old driver has attempted to qualify for five NASCAR Cup Series events with Beard Motorsports this year, in which the team has taken the green flag in four, scoring a best finish of 14th place in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona in August.
This season, for the first time in the team’s history, the No. 62 Chevrolet expanded its schedule to include additional attempts at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Michigan International Speedway, and Charlotte’s ROVAL.