NASCAR Xfinity Series

Austin Hill successfully gambles on fuel as rivals wreck out in Pocono

2 Mins read
Credit: Logan Riely/Getty Images

Austin Hill took a risk by staying out instead of pitting for fuel in the closing laps of Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Pocono Raceway, and a dramatic overtime restart put him out front for the first and only time en route to his fourth win of the year.

Overtime commenced with Hill behind Josh Berry. The former gave a push, but it was what Berry called “a little longer and harder than I wanted into turn one” and sent him careening wide. Hill slipped by and led the rest of the way. The win provides a strong end to Hill‘s Saturday after retiring from the Craftsman Truck Series race earlier in the day due to a late crash.

“We didn’t have the best car all day,” said Hill. Andy (Petree) and all the guys back at RCR Engines worked really hard. We got the car better. I thought we were maybe a top-five or top-seven car. I didn’t think we had anything for the leader today.

“With fuel saving, we didn’t know if we were going to make it and it was on my mind going into the Tunnel Turn (turn two) that I had to get back to the start/finish line. I had enough fuel to do a burnout so we saved enough.”

The contact dropped Berry back before being clipped into the wall with Ryan Sieg on the final lap to end the race under caution. Relegated to twenty-fourth, the finish ruined an otherwise oustanding day as he claimed the pole, led fifty-one laps, and won two stages.

As is usually the case at Pocono, thanks to its length and tendency to have long green-flag runs, fuel strategy became a prime topic in Stage #3 as teams debated when to pit or if they should stay out and hope for either a caution or that they would have enough to reach the finish. Those in the latter camp like Hill had their request fulfilled when Justin Allgaier spun a slow Joey Gase and received another break two laps later after Connor Mosack crashed, both resulting in yellow flags.

Hill seemed to be the only championship contender whose day did not end in catastrophe. Points leader John Hunter Nemechek and third-placed Cole Custer were colleted in a lap 47 crash that caused the latter to drop a spot in the standings.

Cup Series driver Chase Elliott finished third in his first Xfinity race since 2021, while colleague Daniel Suárez managed a top ten.

Race results

FinishStartNumberDriverTeamManufacturerLapsStatus
11121Austin HillRichard Childress RacingChevrolet92Running
281Sam MayerJR MotorsportsChevrolet92Running
31317Chase Elliott*Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet92Running
42198Riley HerbstStewart-Haas RacingFord92Running
5211Daniel HemricKaulig RacingChevrolet92Running
6618Sammy SmithJoe Gibbs RacingToyota92Running
779Brandon JonesJR MotorsportsChevrolet92Running
81825Brett MoffittAM RacingFord92Running
92248Parker KligermanBig Machine Racing TeamChevrolet92Running
102310Daniel Suárez*Kaulig RacingChevrolet92Running
1132Sheldon CreedRichard Childress RacingChevrolet92Running
121227Jeb BurtonJordan Anderson RacingChevrolet92Running
132678Anthony AlfredoB.J. McLeod MotorsportsChevrolet92Running
14253Ty Dillon*Richard Childress RacingChevrolet92Running
151451Jeremy ClementsJeremy Clements RacingChevrolet92Running
162028Kyle SiegRSS RacingFord92Running
173038Joe Graf Jr.RSS RacingFord92Running
182743Ryan EllisAlpha Prime RacingChevrolet92Running
193545Jeffrey EarnhardtAlpha Prime RacingChevrolet92Running
201616Chandler SmithKaulig RacingChevrolet92Running
21344Garrett SmithleyJD MotorsportsChevrolet92Running
221739Ryan SiegRSS RacingFord92Running
2397Justin AllgaierJR MotorsportsChevrolet92Running
2418Josh BerryJR MotorsportsChevrolet91Running
252426Kaz GralaSam Hunt RacingToyota91Running
263653Patrick EmerlingEmerling-Gase MotorsportsChevrolet91Running
273802Blaine PerkinsOur MotorsportsChevrolet91Running
283208Alex LabbéSS-Green Light RacingFord91Running
29316Brennan PooleJD MotorsportsChevrolet91Running
303391Chad Chastain*DGM RacingChevrolet91Running
313735Joey GaseEmerling-Gase MotorsportsChevrolet90Running
32520John Hunter NemechekJoe Gibbs RacingToyota89Running
331000Cole CusterStewart-Haas RacingFord87Running
34419Connor MosackJoe Gibbs RacingToyota85Accident
351931Parker RetzlaffJordan Anderson RacingChevrolet84Running
362892Josh WilliamsDGM RacingChevrolet82Running
371524Corey Heim*Sam Hunt RacingToyota81Suspension
382944Sage KaramAlpha Prime RacingChevrolet7Transmission
DNQ74Dawson CramCHK RacingChevrolet
DNQ66Timmy HillMBM MotorsportsToyota
DNQ07Stefan ParsonsSS-Green Light RacingChevrolet
Italics – Competing for Rookie of the Year
* – Ineligible for points
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Justin is not an off-road racer, but he writes about it for The Checkered Flag.
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