Austin Hill took the lead for the first time on Lap 152 of 163 in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series Focused Health 250 race and held it to the checkered flag for his fourth win in the category at the Atlanta Motor Speedwayhis “home track”.
Born in Winston 30 years ago, won for the third time in the campaign and completed the sweep at the Atlanta races. Seven of Hill’s nine wins have come at tracks where the aerodynamic package is used. superspeedway.
“I’m speechless,” Hill said in Victory Lane. “Our car had speed all day, but the handling wasn’t the way I would have wanted. You come into these races in a way that’s not easy.” superspeedwayand you want to have a car that will get you there. You don’t worry much about it being drivable.
Foto: Logan Riely/Getty Images/NASCAR Media.
Hill got a push on the final lap from Corey Heimwho made his superspeedway debut in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
Chandler Smith was equally surprised and frustrated. Smith went deep to try to pass Hill on the final lap and briefly got in front of Hill’s Richard Childress Racing #21. Heim remained alongside Hill in the lead.
“I was hoping my Toyota teammate would come with me, and he didn’t,” said Smith, who eventually finished fourth in the #82 Joe Gibbs Racing car. “I’m 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 back?” Heim said.
After pushing Hill and passing Smith, Heim attempted a pass at the top of the track, but clipped the outside wall and lost momentum. Parker Kligerman passed Heim for second, followed by AJ Allmendinger.
Foto: Sean Gardner/Getty Images/NASCAR Media.
Hill beat Kligerman to the finish line by 0.340 secondswith Allmendinger third, just 0.004 seconds behind Kligerman.
“Congrats to Austin Hill… he’s the boss here,” said Kligerman, who tied his best finish in the class.
A multi-car crash on lap 145 dramatically altered the structure of the race. Contact between the competitive cars of Justin Allgaier and Cole Custer caused a six-car incident involving the machines of Taylor Gray, Ryan Sieg, Riley Herbst and polesitter Jesse Love.
The crash was especially damaging for 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 overcoming a two-lap deficit resulting from an electrical problem in the opening laps when the accident occurred. He dropped 10 to 44 points behind Smith, who overcame a pit road safety penalty to finish seventh.
The incident sidelined both Allgaier and Custer, who are fighting for the regular-season championship. Allgaier maintains a 34-point lead over the reigning series championbut both Smith (67 points behind) and Hill (71 points) now have a chance to overtake the leader.
Foto: Sean Gardner/Getty Images/NASCAR Media.
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Focused Health 250
Atlanta Motor Speedway
Hampton, Georgia
Saturday, September 7, 2024
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 Victory, 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, accidents, 146.
31. (3) Cole Custer, Ford, Accidente, 144.
32. (14) Ryan Sieg, Ford, Accident, 144.
33. (32) Morgen Baird, Ford, 142.
34. (23) CJ McLaughlin, Chevrolet, Motor, 112.
35. (29) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, Oil, 80.
36. (11) Sam Mayer, Chevrolet, Accidente, 77.
37. (31) Dawson Cram(i), Chevrolet, Motor, 18.
Average speed of winner: 118.514 mph.
Race time: 2:07:05 hours
Margin of Victory: 0.340 seconds.
Yellow flags: 6 for 36 laps.
Leader changes: 12 among 9 drivers.
Líderes por vuelta: 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.
Foto: Sean Gardner/Getty Images/NASCAR Media.
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