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Austin Hill Dominates At Atlanta Motor Speedway To Win In Home State Of Georgia

by Hunter Thomas July 10, 2022 0 comments

HAMPTON, Ga. – Georgia native, Austin Hill dominated to win the Alsco Uniforms 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday.

Hill’s winning day didn’t begin very smoothly. As soon as the field fired engines to start the Alsco Uniforms 250, Hill’s crew couldn’t hear him on the radio. They changed Hill’s helmet, and the issue still wasn’t resolved, so he had to race all day giving signs out of the window to crew.

“We had to do hand gestures on the side of the car to make adjustments, and Andy (Street, crew chief) and the guys did a heckuva job,” Hill said. “The first stop, I put my hand on the door, which meant that I was loose, and he made an awesome adjustment. We didn’t make an adjustment the rest of the race.”

Hill, driver of the Richard Childress Racing No. 21 Bennett Transportation and Logistics Chevrolet, led the field to the white flag, and as they headed into Turns 1 and 2, Daniel Hemric and Josh Berry attempted to make a run for the lead. Hemric dove to the bottom in third, but he was blocked by Hill. Then, Berry looked high, but Hill was able to outrun him down the backstretch. Hill kept a commanding lead and was able to hold Berry and the field at bay. The victory marked his second in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. He won the season-opener at Daytona back in February.

“I’ve been trying to win here for a long time,” Hill said. “I finished second here three times in a row; twice in a truck and then earlier in the spring here. It has been owing me one and finally, we got one in Georgia, where I grew up and was raised about an hour down the road in Douglasville.”

Berry finished second in the JR Motorsports No. 8 Harrison’s USA Chevrolet, earning his second consecutive top-three finish, and his third top-five effort in the past four races. Berry had a strong car all day. He won Stage 1, and he led 13 laps, but in the end, he just didn’t have enough speed to overthrow Hill for the top spot.

“I got a little bit of a run on Austin, and I saw Daniel dive down to the bottom,” Berry said. “Me and my spotter, Jason (Jarrett) were just a little bit too conservative there, and I started to pull down, and it was just a little too late. I had to bail back up to the top. The top was super good That would’ve been really hard to complete that pass, because it seemed like whenever you jump down to the bottom, the car behind you would just push you away; you couldn’t stay connected enough to build a run.”

Ryan Truex finished third, followed by Tyler Reddick, Hemric, Noah Gragson, Justin Allgaier, Landon Cassill, Riley Herbst and AJ Allmendinger.

There were 16 lead changes among seven drivers. Hill led a race high of 73 laps.

There were also six cautions for 28 laps.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series will head North to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the Crayon 200. Live coverage of the race will broadcast on USA and PRN at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 16.

Photo Credit: James Gilbert/Getty Images