FORT WORTH, Texas. – Friday night’s JAG Metals 350 at Texas Motor Speedway certainly brought plenty of emotion front and center for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
From Todd Gilliland’s heartbreak of seeing his first career win run dry on the backstretch on the final lap to Justin Haley taking advantage of Gilliland’s misfortune and seal his way into the Championship 4 race at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway later this month, teams and drivers behind them wrote their own story too.
Winston, Ga. native Austin Hill flexed his muscle for the third consecutive Truck Series race with Young’s Motorsports. A super-fast No. 02 Chevrolet at Talladega flew the five-time NASCAR K&N Pro Series East winner into the headlines with a gutsy performance.
A seventh-place qualifying effort followed by a top-20 finish last weekend at Martinsville kept momentum for Young’s Motorsports alive, but in Friday night’s penultimate intermediate track of the year, Hill embraced a career-best night.
While Hill qualified his No. 02 Ennis Steel Industries Chevrolet 15th, his team led by veteran crew chief Chad Kendrick played their strategy card throughout the opening two stages of the 147-lap race not only making them contenders – but even a potential upset winner.
At times throughout the race, Hill was better than eventual winner Haley or second-place finisher Ben Rhodes, but a late-race green flag pit stop cycle changed the complexion of the race for some, which saw Hill having to claw his way back from deep inside the top-10 to fifth when the checkered flag fell.
The effort was Hill’s career-best Truck Series finish in 49 races, eclipsing an eighth-place run on the road course at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in August.
“Everyone at Young’s Motorsports has been working very hard to get us into the top-five and tonight we had a smooth and uneventful night,” said Hill. “We showed what we are capable of. I can’t thank everyone for their hard work at Young’s Motorsports. They truly never give up and I’m ready for Phoenix and Homestead.”
Young’s Motorsports general manager Tyler Young is often seen on the sidelines running the small empire assembled by his parents Randy and Becky Young – but hailing from Texas, Young competed in his second Truck Series race of the season after finishing seventh at Texas in June.
Unfortunately, Young, a native of Midland, Texas found himself an innocent victim in a Lap 40 crash. Still, Young was able to watch from the sidelines as the team’s flagship truck worked its magic and earned a career-best finish for the Mooresville, N.C.-based team since embarking in the series in 2012.
“Man, I just can’t tell you how proud I am our team,” said Young. “We had three trucks in the race and I’m proud of our Young’s Motorsports team for being able to put competitive equipment out every race. Austin has been on a roll the last month or so and I think everyone has seen how our team’s dedication and commitment is really starting to pay off.
“It takes a lot of people to make this deal work and without them – none of this would be possible. We’ll keep focused and keep making gains forward.”
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
