HAMPTON, Ga.—Austin Hill had the field covered at Daytona International Speedway—until he didn’t.
Hill was attempting to win his fourth-straight NASCAR XFINITY Daytona race in February. His chances looked solid as the 30-year-old driver of the No. 21 Bennett Transportation Chevrolet led 56 of the first 79 laps.
First he reported “a weird smell” with the Richard Childress Racing prepared car. Then he started losing power. By Lap 82, Hill’s day was over after the rear end failed.
The veteran didn’t despair. After finishing a career-best fourth in the NXS last year, Hill vowed to the team, “These things happen, but we’re going to have a hell of a 2025.”
Hill’s return to the Championship 4 could get kickstarted this weekend at his home track—Atlanta Motor Speedway. While the Winston, Georgia native isn’t going for his fourth-straight victory, Hill and the No. 21 RCR team have won four races in their last five starts at the 1.54-mile track, including both contests last year.
Not only has he completed every lap raced in his last six starts, but Hill has led laps in every race. With an average finish of third at Atlanta, Hill’s confidence is similar to the bravado felt racing at Daytona.
“I probably have the same amount of confidence as when I first won here as I do now,” Hill said. “I wouldn’t say I have any extra confidence. Everyone at RCR/ECR (engine dept) worked extremely hard in the offseason to bring a really fast Bennett Chevrolet for this weekend.
“We have the same car that we won that last two races here with and the track is changing. The aging—it’s going through a change. It’s really cold out and it’s going to be cold throughout the race weekend. I think handling is becoming more of an issue. I noticed that last year. The second race in the fall last year, I struggled really, really bad. It’s a wonder that we even won that race but we had to dig deep for that one.”
Hill qualified second for the Bennett Transportation & Logistics 250 with a lap at 174.378 mph (31.793 seconds). RCR teammate Jesse Love topped time trials with a speed of 174.724 mph (31.730 seconds), duplicating the pair’s qualifying efforts from this race last year.
“I’ll take second,” Hill said. “I know what I’ve got. Our Bennett Chevrolet was fast. I feel really strong about tomorrow. As long as we’re able to do the things that we’ve been able to do in years prior, we’ll be a threat. But it’s hard to win at these kind of places—especially a place like Atlanta.”
Hill is hoping the event becomes a handling race and his experience pays off. Although the Atlanta surface is wearing, Hill says the drafting technique is different from the one he uses at Daytona or Talladega Superspeedway.
“I’ve noticed that over each race on the surface, the track is changing and progressing,” Hill said. “It’s losing grip and handling is becoming more of an issue. We still want to be fully trimmed out to have the speed, but the car also needs to handle. It’s difficult on drivers to balance the want for the car to drive well and the want for the car to have speed.
“There seems to be a lot more single-file racing, and all drivers are fighting for the top lane. It’s hard to make lap time work on the bottom because you will get bogged down or the car doesn’t handle well enough to draft down there.”
If Hill wins a fifth race this weekend, he would tie Kevin Harvick for most Xfinity Series victories at Atlanta. If Hill wins this weekend, his seventh speedway victory would place him in a three-way tie for most Xfinity wins on drafting tracks with Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Tony Stewart.
“It’s cool,” Hill said. “I’ve been fortunate enough to win four times here but it hasn’t been easy. There’s not one time I left here thinking, ‘We’ve stomped the field.” I’ve always left here thinking I could be better, that our Bennett Chevrolet could be faster, there are things we can work on with RCR/ECR engines.
“We’re constantly building. We’re constantly growing. I feel really good about Saturday. Normally, I don’t talk about how good our race car is because I’m always skeptical to talk about it. But I really feel good about how those two (qualifying) laps went today.”
Follow Lee Spencer on Twitter @CandiceSpencer or email her at: [email protected].
