Austin Hill won’t be fighting for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Driver’s Championship this year, after being knocked out of the postseason in the first round, but the Hampton, Georgia-native is determined to get team owner Richard Childress on that main stage in Phoenix.
Hill, with a trip to Victory Lane in Saturday’s United Rentals 250 at Talladega, has locked the No. 21 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing into the Championship 4 for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Owner’s Title.
The 31-year-old driver was able to park his Bennett Transportation-sponsored machine in Victory Lane at the 2.66-mile superspeedway, after fighting off a hungry pack of playoff-eligible drivers, saving just enough fuel to get to the finish, and surviving a NASCAR Overtime restart.
“Honestly, I really wasn’t that nervous,” Hill told The CW in Victory Lane. “As soon as my crew chief, Chad [Haney], said that we should have at least two and a half gallons, I knew I was saving fuel leading. We slowed the pace down a lot, leading the pack, and nobody was really making a move, so I was like, well, if we get a late-race caution, I might as well keep saving here. So, I thought we were close, but we were going to make it.”
RACE RESULTS: NASCAR Xfinity Series United Rentals 250
It’s the 14th career victory for Hill in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, a whopping ten of which have come between the series’ three drafting tracks (EchoPark (Atlanta), Daytona, and Talladega).
After struggling to get to Victory Lane at Talladega Superspeedway throughout his NASCAR Xfinity Series tenure with Richard Childress Racing, which began in 2022, Hill has now won the series’s last two trips to the biggest oval on the NASCAR circuit.
“With how the last part of my season has went, with everything that’s went on and getting knocked out of the Playoffs, I knew I was still in the Owner’s Championship, and that’s one thing I want to do for Richard Childress, is get him an Owner’s Championship. If I can’t get the Driver’s, they’ve got to at least get the Owner’s,” Hill added.
The No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet will join the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota GR Supra as the only two entries locked into the Owner’s Title Championship 4, courtesy of victories at Las Vegas and Talladega.
Carson Kvapil and Justin Allgaier were able to make a late rally towards the front of the pack after being forced to come to pit road just before NASCAR Overtime at Talladega, finishing second and third.
Christian Eckes brought his No. 16 Morris-Shea Chevrolet home fourth for Kaulig Racing, while Caesar Bacarella, co-owner of Alpha Prime Racing, brought the team’s fourth entry home inside the top-five — the Florida-native’s first ever top-five result in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and his third top-10 at Talladega.
Blaine Perkins finished in the sixth position for Jordan Anderson Racing, with Parker Retzlaff in seventh, Leland Honeyman in eighth despite getting damage in a mid-race incident, Sammy Smith in ninth, and polesitter Jesse Love rounding out the top-10.
Connor Zilisch, despite a 23rd-place finish in Saturday’s event and the end of an 18-race top-five streak in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, was able to secure himself a spot in the Championship 4 on points, as did Justin Allgaier.
With the three NASCAR Xfinity Series post-season drivers sitting around the cutline having problems in Saturday’s event at Talladega Superspeedway, the battle to make the Championship 4 has become open season, and brought JR Motorsports teammates Carson Kvapil and Sammy Smith into play.
Jesse Love currently sits 40 points above the cutline heading to Martinsville, with Carson Kvapil 11 points to the good. Sammy Smith (-11), Brandon Jones (-20), Sam Mayer (-22), and Sheldon Creed (-41) will all have some work to do as the Xfinity Series heads to the half-mile paperclip next weekend.
William Sawalich, driver of the No. 18 Toyota GR Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing, was involved in a Lap 46 incident with Connor Mosack, Dean Thompson, Leland Honeyman, and Connor Zilisch. Sawalich, 19, was transported to a local hospital for further evaluation. No update has been received on his condition, other than that he is awake and alert.
Coverage of the IAA and Ritchie Bros. 250 at Martinsville Speedway will take place on Saturday, October 25 at 7:30 PM ET on The CW, Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
