Xfinity Series: Austin Hill sweeps Talladega in overtime

Bailey Defoor
3 hours ago
6 min read

Written by Bailey Defoor

Austin Hill sweeps all three stages in Talladega in overtime and makes it his 10th drafting track win of his career!

As it unfolded

Jesse Love started on the pole with Williams Sawalich on the outside. Christian Eckes hocked up on the bumper of Love and gave him the push into the lead before the outside lane picked back up. Sawalich got a push from Carson Kvapil behind, and the move got him back to the side of Love. On Lap three, Love cleared Sawalich for the lead as Eckes and Austin Hill followed him up.

On Lap five, the outside lane picked back up and Sawalich and Kvapil passed Love. A third lane formed, led by Sheldon Creed, and they made it up to third before the middle lane collapsed. Love went back into the lead with teammate Hill behind him.

Lap 15 brought out the first caution. Creed got turned in a multi-car accident from fifth. Brenden Queen, Brandon Jones, Harrison Burton, Jeb Burton, Jordan Anderson, Ryan Sieg, Sam Mayer, Anthony Alfredo, and Jeremy Clements all received damage. Nick Sanchez was declared the leader at the time of caution. The race was red flagged for wall repair.

When the red flag was lifted, some drivers decided to pit. Taylor Gray, Connor Zilisch and 11 other drivers pitted from 12th down, and Zilisch came off pit road first in 15th place.

Sanchez and Hill lined up on the front row for the restart on Lap 21, and Hill and Love easily pushed into the front. A third lane formed with momentum from Kvapile, Zilisch and Gray leading that line before it was covered off by Love and Hill. Zilisch and Justin Allgaier dropped to the bottom as they came around for the last lap of the race.

Stage 1 Results:

No. 21 - Austin Hill (Richard Childress Racing)
No. 7 - Justin Allgaier (JR Motorsports) [PLAYOFFS]
No. 2 - Jesse Love (Richard Childress Racing) [PLAYOFFS]
No. 88 - Connor Zilisch (JR Motorsports) [PLAYOFFS]
No. 19 - Aric Almirola (Joe Gibbs Racing)
No. 8 - Sammy Smith (JR Motorsports) [PLAYOFFS]
No. 31 - Blaine Perkins (Jordan Anderson Racing)
No. 26 - Dean Thompson (Sam Hunt Racing)
No. 1 - Carson Kvapil (JR Motorsports) [PLAYOFFS]
No. 18 - William Sawalich (Joe Gibbs Racing)

After a cycle of pit stops, Dean Thompson and Kyle Sieg were the two drivers that did not pit, so they led the field back to green on Lap 32. By the end of the opening lap, Thompson and K. Seig had fallen back as Love and Zilisch moved into the first and second positions. Zilisch sent to around Love for the lead on Lap 33, but Love fought back one lap later to retake the lead.

Allgaier got up to the front and began battling back and forth with Love for the lead. Love fell back out of the top five, as Allgaier, Hill, Sanchez, Kvapil and Sammy Smith moved up.

Gray also went into the pits on Lap 42 with a mechanical issue and went into the garage.

Caution with six laps to go as Leland Honeyman got tagged and hit Zilisch and Connor Mosack. Sawalich, Thompson and Blane Perkins also received damage. The race was red flagged again.

Some drivers decided to drop into the pits to flip the stage. Teammates Allgaier and Smith lined up on the front row for the restart with two laps to go in the stage. Allgaier was able to clear Smith and slightly pull away before Hill came back on the outside.

Stage 2 Results:

No. 21 - Austin Hill (Richard Childress Racing)
No. 7 - Justin Allgaier (JR Motorsports) [PLAYOFFS]
No. 1 - Carson Kvapil (JR Motorsports) [PLAYOFFS]
No. 16 - Christian Eckes (Kaulig Racing)
No. 48 - Nick Sanchez (Big Machine Racing)
No. 2 - Jesse Love (Richard Childress Racing) [PLAYOFFS]
No. 19 - Aric Almirola (Joe Gibbs Racing)
No. 8 - Sammy Smith (JR Motorsports) [PLAYOFFS]
No. 27 - Jeb Burton (Jordan Anderson Racing)
No. 31 - Blaine Perkins (Jordan Anderson Racing)

After the stage, Ryan Ellis went into the pits to retire the car. All of the lead lap cars pitted under the caution except Daniel Dye and Caesar Baracella as Christian Eckes coming off pit road first, followed by Hill and Kvapil.

Dye linked up with Kvapil for the restart on Lap 55 and pushed him up to the lead. Aric Almirola created his own lane and got in front of Dye without any help before Hill connected with him. They stayed connected until Hill got to the inside of Almirola before H. Burton and J. Burton slide into the lead.

Allgaier and Love got back together on the top as the Burtons fell back. Hill drove under Allgaier on Lap 63 for the lead. Zilisch hit the outside wall and suffered a flat tyre on Lap 71 and went to pit road.

On Lap 92, Smith tagged the back of Almirola who hit J. Burton before hitting the outside wall head-on, sending the race into overtime. Dye also got spun around and had contact with the inside wall. Nick Leitz also received some damage in the collision.

A few drivers pit for fuel as Smith ran out of fuel on the track. Allgaier and Love pit from second and third as Hill stayed out. Hill and Josh Williams lead the way into overtime and Williams immediately fell back as Kvapil, who pitted for fuel, flew into the top five after starting outside the top 10.

Sanchez got into the wall on the last final lap, but no caution was thrown as Kvapil, Eckes and Allgaier hooked up to try for the win. However, Austin Hill completed the sweep in Talladega and the season sweep in the draft!

Provisional Results

No. 21 - Austin Hill (Richard Childress Racing)
No. 1 - Carson Kvapil (JR Motorsports) [PLAYOFFS]
No. 7 - Justin Allgaier (JR Motorsports) [PLAYOFFS]
No. 16 - Christian Eckes (Kaulig Racing)
No. 5 - Caesar Bacarella (Alpha Prime Racing)
No. 31 - Blaine Perkins (Jordan Anderson Racing)
No. 4 - Parker Retzlaff (Alpha Prime Racing)
No. 70 - Leland Honeyman (Cope Family Racing)
No. 8 - Sammy Smith (JR Motorsports) [PLAYOFFS]
No. 2 - Jesse Love (Richard Childress Racing) [PLAYOFFS]
No. 07 - Nick Leitz (SS-Green Light Racing)
No. 14 - Garrett Smithley (SS-Green Light Racing)
No. 25 - Harrison Burton (AM Racing)
No. 45 - Josh Williams (Alpha Prime Racing) [FL]
No. 28 - Kyle Sieg (RSS Racing)
No. 53 - Joey Gase (Joey Gase Racing)
No. 27 - Jeb Burton (Jordan Anderson Racing)
No. 35 - David Starr (Joey Gase Racing)
No. 44 - Brennen Poole (Alpha Prime Racing)
No. 48 - Nick Sanchez (Big Machine Racing)
No. 74 - Carson Ware (Mike Harmon Racing)
No. 91 - Mason Maggio (DGM Racing x JIM) +1 lap
No. 88 - Connor Zilisch (JR Motorsports) [PLAYOFFS] +3 laps
No. 19 - Aric Almirola (Joe Gibbs Racing) [DNF]
No. 10 - Daniel Dye (Kaulig Racing) [DNF]
No. 20 - Brandon Jones (Joe Gibbs Racing) [PLAYOFFS] +16 laps
No. 71 - Ryan Ellis (DGM Racing + JIM) [DNF]
No. 99 - Connor Mosack (Viking Motorsports) [DNF]
No. 26 - Dean Thompson (Sam Hunt Racing) [DNF]
No. 18 - William Sawalich (Joe Gibbs Racing) [DNF]
No. 54 - Taylor Gray (Joe Gibbs Racing) [DNF]
No. 32 - Jordan Anderson (Jordan Anderson Racing) [DNF]
No. 42 - Anthony Alfredo (Young’s Motorsports) [DNF]
No. 00 - Sheldon Creed (Haas Factory Team) [PLAYOFFS] [DNF]
No. 39 - Ryan Sieg (RSS Racing) [DNF]
No. 11 - Brenden Queen (Kaulig Racing) [DNF]
No. 51 - Jeremy Clements (Jeremy Clements Racing) [DNF]
No. 41 - Sam Mayer (Haas Factory Team) [PLAYOFFS] [DNF]

Next week is the last chance for the NASCAR Xfinity Playoffs drivers to lock in for the Championship 4. Tune in on Saturday, October 25, at 16:00 ET (21:00 UK) as drivers race around Martinsville Speedway.

Provisional Playoff Picture