Austin Hill Makes It A Peach State Three-Peat

Austin Hill celebrates with a burnout after winning Saturday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway. (HHP/Chris Owens photo)

HAMPTON, Ga. – To paraphrase the great Benjamin Franklin, there are three things certain in life: death, taxes, and Austin Hill winning NASCAR Xfinity Series races at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Hill staked his claim on a third straight Xfinity Series trophy at the 1.54-mile quad-oval Saturday night by leading five times for 146 of 163 laps and sweeping the stages in the Bennett Transportation & Logistics 250, carrying the race sponsor to victory lane on his No. 21 Chevrolet in the process.

Though multiple drivers and teams threw challenges at Hill over the duration, the Winston, Ga., native never faltered on the way to his 11th career Xfinity Series win and fifth time overall at AMS.

“I love this place!” he exclaimed to a cheering crowd during his victory celebration on the frontstretch.

Hill’s lone true test arguably came during the three-lap dash to the finish that decided Saturday’s contest.

Defending series champion Justin Allgaier got a huge push from JR Motorsports teammate Sammy Smith down low on the final restart, propelling the No. 7 Chevrolet just clear of Hill exiting the second corner onto the backstretch.

But instead of slicing up to block any oncoming momentum from Hill, Allgaier stayed against the double-white line on the approach to turn three, losing steam as the help behind him fizzled out while Hill reloaded for a second go with a shove from Joe Gibbs Racing veteran Aric Almirola.

The push put Hill back in front as Allgaier faded back, before Almirola then lagged back and used a bump from Parker Retzlaff to charge to Hill’s inside and lead by a bumper at the white flag.

But Almirola and Retzlaff made contact racing for second into turn one on the last lap, allowing Hill to escape to the top spot for good.

Though a multi-car accident broke out in the middle of the pack on the backstretch, the leaders were able to race back to the finish line unimpeded, with Hill taking the checkers in front by .216 seconds.

Austin Hill (21) leads Jesse Love (2) and Sam Mayer Saturday at Atlanta Motor Speedway. (HHP/David Graham photo)

The emotions of winning his sponsor’s race and winning yet again in front of his home crowd were evident throughout Hill’s post-race festivities.

“We’re going to soak this one up, drink a lot of beer, and get ready for the next race … but man, I wanted to in this race so badly for all the men and women at Bennett that sponsored this deal and support our race team,” Hill noted. “They do so much for me and in our sport and to give back to them is unbelievable.

“The 7 (Allgaier) got clear there and I cannot believe he didn’t go [up to the] top down the backstretch. But thank you to Parker Retzlaff for giving me the push he did, and then once I got clear into [turn] one I was just wide open and hoping they weren’t going to build up momentum,” Hill added. “To be able to do this is something special.”

Other than a stalled Dean Thompson – who was penalized for intentionally bringing out a yellow on lap six – the first two 45-lap stages ran without interruption.

The biggest hits of the night came with 22 laps left, after Nick Sanchez clipped the apron entering turn three and washed up into Sam Mayer’s Ford, tipping Mayer down the track into the side of Connor Zilisch’s Chevrolet.

Mayer’s car then shot back to the right, pounding the outside SAFER Barrier in turn four and collecting a helpless Anthony Alfredo in the process, eliminating both vehicles with terminal crash damage.

Zilisch’s wounded machine then led to the final debris caution with 10 to go, after the heavy-duty tape his team used to try and repair the right-side sheet metal came off, spraying door foam onto the track.

Though Allgaier did end up second in a side-by-side battle with Almirola at the finish line, he lamented not taking position during the final restart after clearing Hill and having a shot to control the race.

“Watching the run develop on the top … those guys had a big push and I didn’t really have any push behind me,” Allgaier explained. “At that point, I knew I was a sitting duck if I’d tried to pull up in front (of Hill). I tried something similar earlier in the race … and unfortunately I got swallowed up and went to the back.

“We didn’t lose as much there at the end, but man … to put ourselves in position to be there at the end, you can’t ask for too much more than that from the driver’s seat.”

Almirola crossed third – .020 seconds back of Allgaier – and was trailed by Smith and Sanchez, who rallied from front bumper damage sustained on lap six after running into the back of a skidding Ryan Sieg to finish fifth.

Sixth through 10th were Jordan Anderson Racing’s Jeb Burton, Kaulig Racing’s Daniel Dye, Cope Family Racing’s Leland Honeyman Jr., JGR’s William Sawalich, and AM Racing’s Harrison Burton.

In all, eight different organizations were represented among the top 10 Saturday night.

The final-lap accident saw Retzlaff slide sideways across the track exiting turn two and into oncoming traffic, hooking Christian Eckes as multiple others scrambled to try and avoid major contact.

Eckes was the only driver of those collected that was unable to limp back to the checkered flag. He was scored 29th in the final results.

The Xfinity Series season continues Saturday, March 1 at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, where NASCAR Cup Series star Kyle Larson won last year in a rare drop-down appearance.

Broadcast coverage of the Focused Health 250 is slated for 2:30 p.m. ET, live on The CW, the Performance Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.