October 26, 2024
By Holly Cain
NASCAR Wire Service
HOMESTEAD, Fla. – An emotional Austin Hill climbed out of his No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet on the Homestead-Miami Speedway frontstretch to celebrate one of the most significant race wins of his burgeoning career – claiming the Credit One NASCAR AMEX Credit Card 300 trophy Saturday and securing one of four positions to race for a trophy in the Nov. 9 series championship finale.
Hill – who also swept both of the race’s stage wins – took the lead from Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer with 11 laps remaining Saturday evening at the 1.5-mile South Florida track and raced off to a healthy 3.045-second win over the fellow Playoff driver and reigning series champion Custer.
It was the fourth win of the season for Hill and 10th of this career. But importantly, it is the first time the 30-year-old Georgia native will have a chance to race for the championship trophy after multi-win seasons the last three years.
“I worked so hard for this, a lot of people doubt me but I wake up every day to prove them wrong,” Hill said. “I deserve to be here and I deserve to race for a championship. This 21-team deserves it just as much as I do. They work their [butts] off each and every day just like I do. I’ve got to give it up to those guys. They gave me a hell of a car.
“I can honestly say I’ve never cried coming to the start-finish line, but I had to get my emotions together going into Turn 1 after the checkered, all the hard work and dedication that goes into this. I don’t think everyone’s going to understand what this means for me, for my family and for [sponsor] Bennett. … I had to be on it today.
Pausing to take it in, he added, “This is amazing. To be able to go the Final Four. I’ve worked so hard at this and my dreams came true.”
With his win and A.J. Allmendinger’s victory last week at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, now only two positions remain for the title chase with one more race remaining – at the Martinsville (Va.) Speedway half-miler next week – to establish the championship foursome.
JR Motorsports driver Justin Allgaier – who only had three previous top-10 finishes at Homestead – took the checkered flag in eighth place which was good enough to keep the driver of the No. 7 JRM Chevrolet with the points lead in third place should he need that to advance to the championship race.
Custer, whose No. 00 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford led a race best 87 of the 200 laps, is now on that fourth-place cutoff line with a 28-point advantage over Saturday’s race pole-winner Chandler Smith. Smith, finished 13th and as with the bottom four ranked drivers is essentially in a must-win situation next weekend.
Hill’s rookie teammate Jesse Love ran up front much of the day and finished fourth. He’s now sixth in the points standings – 35 points below Custer.
“It just shows you how good you have to be to get in the Championship Four,” Love said, noting of the Phoenix finale, “I feel like if we could get there we have a shot to win.”
JR Motorsports teammates Sam Mayer and Sammy Smith finished ninth and 22nd, respectively and find themselves in a similar must-win situation to Chandler Smith and Love next week at Martinsville.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Aric Almirola finished third Saturday behind the Playoff drivers, with Love and JGR’s Sheldon Creed rounding out the top-five. Custer’s SHR teammate Riley Herbst, RSS Racing’s Ryan Sieg, Allgaier, Mayer and last week’s race winner Allmendinger completed the top-10.
Of note, 18-year-old William Sawalich finished 24th in his much-anticipated Xfinity Series debut.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series moves to the Martinsville (Va.) Speedway half-miler next week for Saturday’s National Debt Relief 200 (4 p.m. ET on The CW, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Allgaier is the defending race winner. Almirola won at the track this Spring.
NASCAR Xfinity Series Race – Credit One® NASCAR® AMEX Credit Card 300
Homestead-Miami Speedway
Homestead, Florida
Saturday, October 26, 2024
1. (16) Austin Hill (P), Chevrolet, 200.
2. (4) Cole Custer (P), Ford, 200.
3. (3) Aric Almirola (P), Toyota, 200.
4. (14) Jesse Love # (P), Chevrolet, 200.
5. (2) Sheldon Creed, Toyota, 200.
6. (8) Riley Herbst, Ford, 200.
7. (17) Ryan Sieg, Ford, 200.
8. (5) Justin Allgaier (P), Chevrolet, 200.
9. (9) Sam Mayer (P), Chevrolet, 200.
10. (6) AJ Allmendinger (P), Chevrolet, 200.
11. (7) Parker Kligerman, Chevrolet, 200.
12. (13) Connor Zilisch, Chevrolet, 200.
13. (1) Chandler Smith (P), Toyota, 200.
14. (21) Kyle Weatherman, Chevrolet, 200.
15. (18) Anthony Alfredo, Chevrolet, 200.
16. (23) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 200.
17. (25) Shane Van Gisbergen #, Chevrolet, 199.
18. (19) Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, 199.
19. (20) Brandon Jones, Chevrolet, 199.
20. (15) Jeb Burton, Chevrolet, 199.
21. (22) Ryan Truex, Toyota, 199.
22. (10) Sammy Smith (P), Chevrolet, 199.
23. (11) Parker Retzlaff, Chevrolet, 199.
24. (12) William Sawalich(i), Toyota, 199.
25. (31) Ryan Ellis, Chevrolet, 199.
26. (27) Kyle Sieg, Ford, 199.
27. (24) Josh Williams, Chevrolet, 197.
28. (28) Brad Perez, Chevrolet, 197.
29. (34) Austin Green, Chevrolet, 197.
30. (26) Leland Honeyman #, Chevrolet, 197.
31. (32) Mason Maggio(i), Chevrolet, 197.
32. (30) Dylan Lupton, Ford, 196.
33. (29) Dawson Cram(i), Chevrolet, 196.
34. (35) Blaine Perkins, Ford, 195.
35. (37) Armani Williams, Ford, 193.
36. (36) Thomas Annunziata, Chevrolet, Ignition, 190.
37. (33) Nick Leitz, Chevrolet, Suspension, 87.
38. (38) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, Overheating, 56.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 128.22 mph.
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 20 Mins, 23 Secs. Margin of Victory: 3.045 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 3 for 19 laps.
Lead Changes: 10 among 6 drivers.
Lap Leaders: C. Smith (P) 1-29;C. Custer (P) 30-41;A. Almirola (P) 42;A. Hill (P) 43-97;C. Custer (P) 98-112;A. Hill (P) 113-127;C. Custer (P) 128-158;S. Creed 159-170;A. Allmendinger (P) 171-179;C. Custer (P) 180-188;A. Hill (P) 189-200.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Austin Hill (P) 3 times for 82 laps; Cole Custer (P) 4 times for 67 laps; Chandler Smith (P) 1 time for 29 laps; Sheldon Creed 1 time for 12 laps; AJ Allmendinger (P) 1 time for 9 laps; Aric Almirola (P) 1 time for 1 lap.
Stage #1 Top Ten: 21,20,18,7,00,1,16,98,81,28
Stage #2 Top Ten: 21,16,00,28,20,18,7,81,2,19
The NASCAR Cup Series will cap off the weekend’s action tomorrow with the Straight Talk Wireless 400 at 2:30 p.m. ET.
Tickets are available for purchase via phone at 866-409-7223 or online at www.homesteadmiamispeedway.com. Fans can stay connected to Homestead-Miami Speedway on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
About Homestead-Miami Speedway
Founded by Miami businessman, racing enthusiast and philanthropist Ralph Sanchez, Homestead-Miami Speedway has been open since 1995 following an initiative to spur economic recovery in the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew. The 650-acre facility features a 1.5-mile oval and 2.21-mile road course which also hosts on-track events nearly 300 days per year and generates more than $301 million annually for the region. NASCAR crowned champions in all three of its national series at Homestead-Miami Speedway for 18 straight years (2002-19). Homestead-Miami Speedway is home to Fast Lane Friday, which serves as a legal drag racing event open to all car enthusiasts 18 and older with a valid driver’s license and proof of registration and insurance. Located inside of Turn 3 on a 20,000 square foot beach, Beach Bash is exclusively offered for fans at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Open to all ages, the beach sits on the spring-fed 7-acre lake which spans the width of the backstretch and offers live entertainment, beach and water activities, and unique food and beverage options all while taking in the race action. For more information on Homestead-Miami Speedway, please visit www.homesteadmiamispeedway.com.
About NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States and owner of 14 of the nation’s major motorsports entertainment facilities. NASCAR sanctions races in three national series (NASCAR Cup Series™, NASCAR Xfinity Series™, and NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series™), four international series (NASCAR Brasil Series, NASCAR Canada Series, NASCAR Mexico Series, NASCAR Whelen Euro Series), four regional series (ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East & West and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour) and a local grassroots series (NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series). The International Motor Sports Association™ (IMSA®) governs the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship™, the premier U.S. sports car series. NASCAR also owns Motor Racing Network, Racing Electronics, and ONE DAYTONA. Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, with offices in five cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races annually in 11 countries and more than 30 U.S. states.
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