When it comes to racing on a superspeedway in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, a triumph by Austin Hill and Richard Childress Racing just seems inevitable.
On Saturday, by the narrowest of margins, the Winston, Georgia-native collected another victory on a drafting track, winning the Ag-Pro 300 at Talladega Superspeedway. It’s the third win of 2025 for Hill, and the 13th of his NASCAR Xfinity Series career.
Although this time, Hill didn’t put on a clinic like he usually does — Jesse Love, his teammate at Richard Childress Racing, had that part handled, leading a race-high 50 of 113 laps after starting on the pole for Saturday’s 300-mile event.
The 31-year-old driver paced the field for 19 circuits on Saturday and ended up winning the race’s second stage, but when the event was finished, it came down to a three-wide photo finish at the moment of caution, as determined by NASCAR.
It’s the ninth drafting track victory in the Xfinity Series for Hill, which officially makes him the all-time leader in that category. Before Saturday, all of his drafting track wins have come at either Daytona or Atlanta.
Hill ended up getting the nod over Jeb Burton, who would be awarded a second-place finish, with his teammate Jesse Love in third place, despite initiating the contact that brought out the race’s final caution.
As the field was racing down the backstretch on the final lap of the event, Jesse Love pulled to the inside to make a move on race leader at the time, Connor Zilisch, making contact and turning him to the inside wall.
Zilisch, driving the No. 88 for JR Motorsports, slammed the inside SAFER Barrier, drawing the caution as the field entered Turn 3. The rookie driver was uninjured and later released from the infield care center.
Jeb Burton, a two-time NASCAR Xfinity Series winner at Talladega Superspeedway (2021, 2023), finished in second place for Jordan Anderson Racing. Jesse Love, ultimately came home in third.
Justin Allgaier was awarded a fourth-place finish, while Matt DiBenedetto rounded out the top five, driving the No. 99 Chevrolet for Viking Motorsports, the organization’s first-ever top-five result.
Anthony Alfredo came home in sixth place, with Blaine Perkins notching a career-best seventh in the No. 31 for Jordan Anderson Racing. Harrison Burton, Sheldon Creed, and Daniel Dye completed the top-10.
Leaving Talladega, Justin Allgaier holds a 79-point advantage over race-winner Austin Hill in the NASCAR Xfinity Series point standings. Sam Mayer, Jesse Love, and Carson Kvapil round out the top five.
The series will travel to Texas Motor Speedway next weekend, the site of a photo finish between Sam Mayer and Ryan Sieg last season, that has been referred to ever since as one of the most exciting moments in the second-tier series.
Coverage of the Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 will take place on Saturday, May 3 at 2:00 PM ET on The CW, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).
