Austin Hill sweeps Atlanta, makes history in the Xfinity Series
With the win today, Austin Hill sweeps Atlanta in the NASCAR Xfinity Series season and makes history at the same time. Somehow, someway, this 21 car finds itself in the front of these drafting tracks.
Austin Hill now has three wins on the season. It’s hard to believe but he hadn’t won a race since that first trip to Atlanta. This is exactly what this team needed as they head into the playoffs.
A huge wreck with less than 20 laps to go set Hill up for this finish. To the credit of the field, they managed to avoid wrecking at the end of this race and brought it home under green.
Hill has tied Dale Earnhardt Jr. for third all-time in drafting track wins in the Xfinity Series with seven. Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Sr. each have eight.
This race was not dominated by Austin Hill. Justin Allgaier won the first stage over Hill. AJ Allmendinger won the second stage. Really, it wasn’t until the late wreck by Allgaier that Hill was able to get track position late and make a move to win the race.
Once again, this Xfinity Series field was too nervous to form a second line. Josh Williams made a really good push on the bottom of the track. However, no one would go with him and help him create that line.
Just as we have seen in multiple drafting races this season, no line formed and the leader, Austin Hill, really didn’t have a serious challenge to his lead.
Austin Hill wins, can he make playoff run?
So, Austin Hill now has three wins on the season. That is tied with Shane van Gisbergen for most in the series this year. All of Hill’s wins have come on superspeedways, meanwhile, SVG has all road course wins.
Can either of these drivers make a deep run? Well, the first round of the Xfinity Series Playoffs actually plays into both of their favor. Kansas and Talladega are opportunities for Hill to win and pick up a lot of points.
Then the round ends with the Charlotte Roval. That is where SVG can shine, and win, putting himself into the second round. From there, it gets tougher for both drivers with races at Las Vegas, Homestead-Miami, and Martinsville. But it might not matter if they have enough playoff points.
Austin Hill proved once again he is the man to beat on these superspeedways. This was the first top-5 for the 21 car since Nashville. That is a long drought for a team that believes it can win a championship. Will Hill make a run to the Championship 4?