Mechanical Failure Ends Hill’s Bid For Another Daytona Win

Austin Hill sits on pit road Saturday evening at Daytona Int'l Speedway. (Rusty Jarrett/Nigel Kinrade Photography)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – As most people expected Saturday evening, It was all Austin Hill for a majority of the United Rentals 300 … until it wasn’t.

After appearing to be well on his way to a fourth consecutive season-opening NASCAR Xfinity Series victory at Daytona Int’l Speedway, the driver of the No. 21 Chevrolet was forced to watch from the sidelines as Richard Childress Racing teammate Jesse Love celebrated in victory lane, due to a mechanical failure in the final stage.

Hill put on yet another downright dominant display at Daytona, leading five times for a race-high 56 laps and sweeping both stages.

In the process of pacing the field, the 30-year-old from Winston, Ga., surpassed Dale Earnhardt for the second-most laps led all time on drafting tracks in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

In typical Hill fashion, he was able to maneuver his car through the draft with ease and literally wherever he wanted, almost like he was toying with the field. In fact, his No. 21 team prepared such a speedy Chevrolet, Hill often had to brake and let off the throttle to prevent pulling away from the pack.

”The only complaint I had is that I was a little tight off of (turn) four and that the car was almost too good when I was leading, because I could get these big gaps on the guys behind me,” Hill said. “I could get two or three car lengths out so fast that I had to work the brake pedal a lot and try to keep everybody closed up, because if you get too far out, then they get a run (and) they get around you.

“That was actually my biggest challenge, was just the car was so fast that I could just get out whenever I wanted to … so I really had to modulate that.”

Putting on a clinic through two stages, it quickly became apparent the only thing that would be able to stop Hill was either himself or circumstances. Unfortunately, the latter ended up being the case when he brought his car down for service during green flag pit stops with 40 to go.

In the laps before pitting, drivers riding behind Hill as he led had reported fluid spraying on their windshield, while Hill also radioed to his team that there was an off-putting smell permeating in the cockpit.

As Hill slowed down to pit road speed, bad went to worse as an aggressive vibration rocked the car until it came to a stop.

Parked on pit road, Hill’s pit crew assessed and diagnosed what they and their driver feared to be a burnt up rear gear. Instead of attempting a meaningless repair, the three-time Daytona winner surrendered, went to the garage and retired from the race after 82 laps, leaving him with a 33rd-place finish.

It was a gutting way to end Hill’s dominant effort.

“I'd almost wish to take the white flag and get up on my lid on the backstretch and lose it that way than to lose it this way,” Hill said. “I've already told these guys on the radio, ‘Keep your heads up.’ You win as a team, and you lose as a team. There’s been times that I've lost in this No. 21 car multiple times that it should have won in the last several years that I've been in it.

“This is a team sport. I'm going to go around and pat everybody on the back, tell them thank you for as fast of a race car as we had, and we're just going to come back to Atlanta (Motor Speedway) even stronger.”

Although there isn’t any consolation in defeat, Hill was fortunate enough to bag 20 stage points and two playoff points, despite his DNF, heading into Atlanta – where he is a four-time winner.

Additionally, his teammate Love held on for his second Xfinity victory and cited Hill’s guidance as a contributing factor to his triumph.

”Austin’s helped me out a ton,” Love said. “I came here last year as a rookie, and because of him, I have a wealth of knowledge. I’m in this spot today because he was selfless enough in the moment to help me out when I needed it and didn’t hide anything from me.”

Saturday wasn’t a win in a literal sense for Hill, but it was a moment he’ll look back on as a motivator for the rest of his season.

“We’re just getting started,” Hill said moments after being released from the infield care center.

Hill will look to rebound and score a third consecutive win at Atlanta on Saturday, Feb. 22 at 5 p.m. ET on The CW, the Performance Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.