HAMPTON, Ga. — Seizing the lead for the first time on Lap 152 of 163 of the Focused Health 250 on Saturday, Austin Hill stayed out front the rest of the way to win his fourth NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, his home track.
The 30-year-old driver from Winston, Ga., won for the third time this season and completed a sweep of the two Atlanta races. Seven of Hill’s nine career victories have come at race tracks using the superspeedway competition package.
“I’m speechless right now,” Hill said. “Our Bennett Chevrolet had speed all day, but the handling just was not there the way that I would like. You come to these superspeedway-style events, and you want to have a car that’s trimmed-out. You don’t worry too much about handling.
“But I thought handling was going to be an issue, and it definitely played a part today. We made some right moves at the right time between my spotter, Derek Kneeland, and me. We got up to second and when we had that restart (on Lap 150), I was contemplating ‘Do I go top, or do I go bottom?’
“We both agreed that we have to go bottom and try to get to the lead, and if the bottom didn’t work out, then so be it.”
Hill got help from an unexpected source. He expressed surprise that he got a decisive push on the final lap from Toyota driver Corey Heim, who was making his first superspeedway start in the Xfinity Series.
Toyota driver Chandler Smith was equally surprised — and frustrated. Smith dropped to the bottom to attempt to pass Hill on the final circuit and briefly nosed past the front bumper of Hill’s No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. Heim stayed with Hill on top.
“I expected my Toyota teammate to come with me, and he didn’t,” said Smith, who ultimately finished fourth in the No. 82 Joe Gibbs Racing Supra. “I’m kind of speechless.”
Heim, who finished fifth behind Smith, thought his best chance to win the race was to stay with Hill.
“He (Smith) had no run and no momentum, so why go to the bottom?” Heim said.
After he pushed Hill clear of Smith, Heim tried a pass at the top of the track but brushed the outside wall and lost momentum. Parker Kligerman swept past Heim into second place, with AJ Allmendinger following.
Hill beat Kligerman to the finish line by 0.340 seconds, with Allmendinger in third, just 0.004 seconds behind Kligerman.
“Congrats to Austin Hill — he’s the master of this place,” said Kligerman, who matched his career-best finish in the series.
A multi-car crash on Lap 145 dramatically altered the complexion of the race. Contact between the competitive cars of Justin Allgaier and Cole Custer ignited a six-car incident that collected the machines of Taylor Gray, Ryan Sieg, Riley Herbst and pole winner Jesse Love.
The wreck was particularly detrimental to Sieg, who is chasing Sammy Smith for the final spot in the 12-driver Xfinity Series Playoffs.
Sieg was running in the top 10 after making up a two-lap deficit — the result of an electrical issue in the opening laps — when the wreck occurred. He dropped from 10 to 44 points behind Smith, who overcame a pit road safety violation penalty to finish seventh.
The incident sidelined Allgaier and Custer, who are battling for the regular-season championship. Allgaier maintains a 34-point margin over the reigning series champion, but both Smith (67 points behind) and Hill (71 points) now have outside chances to overtake the leader.
NASCAR Xfinity Series Race — Focused Health 250
Atlanta Motor Speedway
Hampton, Georgia
1. (4) Austin Hill, Chevrolet, 163.
2. (16) Parker Kligerman, Chevrolet, 163.
3. (6) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 163.
4. (8) Chandler Smith, Toyota, 163.
5. (21) Corey Heim(i), Toyota, 163.
6. (1) Jesse Love #, Chevrolet, 163.
7. (19) Sammy Smith, Chevrolet, 163.
8. (13) Josh Williams, Chevrolet, 163.
9. (18) Brandon Jones, Chevrolet, 163.
10. (7) Ryan Truex, Toyota, 163.
11. (37) Kyle Weatherman, Chevrolet, 163.
12. (17) Parker Retzlaff, Chevrolet, 163.
13. (22) Lawless Alan(i), Ford, 163.
14. (15) Anthony Alfredo, Chevrolet, 163.
15. (26) Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, 163.
16. (28) Kyle Sieg, Ford, 163.
17. (35) Leland Honeyman #, Chevrolet, 163.
18. (27) Mason Maggio(i), Chevrolet, 163.
19. (24) Blaine Perkins, Ford, 163.
20. (25) Nick Leitz, Chevrolet, 163.
21. (34) Ryan Ellis, Chevrolet, 163.
22. (33) David Starr, Chevrolet, 163.
23. (30) Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet, 163.
24. (20) Jeb Burton, Chevrolet, 162.
25. (5) Sheldon Creed, Toyota, 160.
26. (9) Riley Herbst, Ford, 158.
27. (12) Shane Van Gisbergen #, Chevrolet, 157.
28. (2) Taylor Gray(i), Toyota, Suspension, 154.
29. (36) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, Suspension, 149.
30. (10) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, Accident, 146.
31. (3) Cole Custer, Ford, Accident, 144.
32. (14) Ryan Sieg, Ford, Accident, 144.
33. (32) Morgen Baird, Ford, 142.
34. (23) CJ McLaughlin, Chevrolet, Engine, 112.
35. (29) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, Oil Line, 80.
36. (11) Sam Mayer, Chevrolet, Accident, 77.
37. (31) Dawson Cram(i), Chevrolet, Engine, 18.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 118.514 mph.
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 7 Mins, 5 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.340 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 6 for 36 laps.
Lead Changes: 12 among 9 drivers.
Lap Leaders: J. Love # 1-15; S. Creed 16; J. Love # 17-24; J. Allgaier 25-43; A. Allmendinger 44-82; L. Honeyman # 83; T. Gray(i) 84-95; C. Smith 96-107; C. Custer 108-131; A. Allmendinger 132; C. Custer 133-135; C. Smith 136-151; A. Hill 152-163.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): AJ Allmendinger 2 times for 40 laps; Chandler Smith 2 times for 28 laps; Cole Custer 2 times for 27 laps; Jesse Love # 2 times for 23 laps; Justin Allgaier 1 time for 19 laps; Austin Hill 1 time for 12 laps; Taylor Gray(i) 1 time for 12 laps; Sheldon Creed 1 time for 1 lap; Leland Honeyman # 1 time for 1 lap.
Stage #1 Top Ten: 7,21,98,18,2,1,9,00,81,19
Stage #2 Top Ten: 16,8,00,98,7,2,19,81,97,21
–By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service. Special to Field Level Media.
