Tag: Austin Hill

Kaulig Racing should target these drivers for the No. 31 car in 2024

Kaulig Racing should target these drivers to replace Justin Haley in the No. 31 car for the NASCAR Cup Series starting in 2024.

[autotag]Kaulig Racing[/autotag] has an opening in the No. 31 car for their NASCAR Cup Series program after Justin Haley announced he would join Rick Ware Racing on a multi-year deal starting in 2024. It was a shocking development as both sides wanted to continue far into the future. Now, Kaulig Racing is tasked with finding Haley’s replacement, and which drivers make the most sense?

[autotag]Austin Hill[/autotag] is one of Kaulig Racing’s top targets for the No. 31 car and it is easy to understand why that is the case. Hill currently drives for Richard Childress Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and sits as the points leader with four wins, 13 top-5 finishes, 17 top-10 finishes, and a 7.5 average finishing position. In this situation, Hill would stay in the Chevrolet camp and go into the perfect situation for both parties.

If Hill surprisingly doesn’t go to Kaulig Racing, there is another stellar option. [autotag]Chandler Smith[/autotag], a driver for the organization in the Xfinity Series, would be a natural fit after his first season with the race team. Smith currently sits seventh in the point standings with one win, five top-5 finishes, eight top-10 finishes, and a 15.4 average finishing position. Smith is bound to end up with Kaulig Racing in the Cup Series one day so why not next year?

Finally, there is an out-of-the-box idea that would make sense for Kaulig Racing. What about Big Machine Racing driver [autotag]Parker Kligerman[/autotag]? The driver of the No. 48 car runs in the Xfinity Series and currently sits 17 points below the cut-line. It would be a surprise to see Kligerman in the No. 31 car but he does have experience in the Cup Series. If Kaulig Racing is looking for a veteran driver, Kligerman could be an fascinating situation.

Either way, the No. 31 car for Kaulig Racing will be one to look out for during the remainder of NASCAR silly season. It represents one of the best rides available in the Cup Series and could give a driver in the lower ranks of the sport a great opportunity.

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Hill comes out on top of Pocono Xfinity fuel gamble

Austin Hill survived an early race pit road speeding penalty, gambled on fuel strategy and prevailed in an incredible wheel-to-wheel run to the checkered flag in overtime to claim his fourth NASCAR Xfinity Series victory of the season in the Explore …

Austin Hill survived an early race pit road speeding penalty, gambled on fuel strategy and prevailed in an incredible wheel-to-wheel run to the checkered flag in overtime to claim his fourth NASCAR Xfinity Series victory of the season in the Explore the Pocono Mountains 225 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway on Saturday.

As important as the victory for the 29-year old Georgia-native, his good day combined with an uncharacteristically disappointing day for his closest rivals in the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship standings gave him a huge boost in the points with only seven races remaining to set the 12-driver playoff field. He trailed championship leader John Hunter Nemechek by 33 points before the green flag and took the checkered flag now only 13 behind.

On a dramatic – at times chaotic – overtime restart, Hill had to get around the day’s most dominant driver, JR Motorsports’ Josh Berry. His No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet was behind Berry on the restart and gave him a big push at the green flag, but Berry got loose and Hill got around him to lead his first lap on the afternoon.

Both Berry and his JRM teammate Justin Allgaier hit the wall in separate accidents on the final lap bringing out the yellow flag and the race ultimately ended under caution with Hill out front.

“We didn’t have the best car all day,’’ Hill said. “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.

“On that restart he drove into one and got really loose into the entry. … We drag raced down the backstretch and once I cleared (Berry) I knew I just had to hit my marks.

“Such a special win,’’ he added. “Obviously 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 2) that I had to get back to the start/finish line. I had enough fuel to do a burnout so we saved enough.’’

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It was especially heartbreaking for Berry, who dominated all the race’s major statistics. For the first time in his career he swept both stage wins, and he started from pole position for the first time this year, leading a race high 51 of the 92 laps. He finished 24th after his No. 8 JRM Chevrolet trailed up track and into the wall racing Hill — bringing out the final caution that ended the race.

“Just a wild restart there,’’ said Berry, who will take over for retiring NASCAR Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick in the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford next year.

“The No. 21 (Hill) was behind me and gave me a really good push but pushed me a little longer and harder than I wanted into Turn 1 and got me into the marbles. … I was able to battle back and race with him, tried to time the run, but got there a little quicker.

“Just a racing deal.,’’ he added. “Hate we didn’t get the finish we deserved today. Just really proud of the car we brought today and I know if we continue to have that kind of speed we’ll win plenty of races. Just a tough way to end but still a lot of positives from the day.’’

His JR Motorsports teammate Sammy Smith finished second to Hill, followed by former NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott, who was competing in his first NASCAR Xfinity Series race in two years – driving the No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in a paint scheme honoring his team owner Rick Hendrick’s late son, Ricky Hendrick.

Stewart-Haas Racing’s Riley Herbst finished fourth, also coming out on the right side of fuel-save gamble. Kaulig Racing’s Daniel Hemric was fifth.

“We finished fourth and that’s what we needed at a track I don’t particularly love,’’ Herbst said. “Lucky to get out of here with a top-five.’’

The effort was good enough to keep Herbst in the points picture for the championship. He is ranked 12th – the final playoff transfer position – 26 points ahead of Parker Kligerman, who finished ninth Saturday.

Sammy Smith, Brandon Jones, Brett Moffitt, Kligerman and another NASCAR Cup Series regular, Daniel Suarez (Kaulig Racing) rounded out the top 10.

A mid-race incident with two of the three championship leaders – Nemechek and third place Cole Custer – changed the complexion on the regular season title chase. On a restart just over halfway through the race – with both Nemechek and Custer running inside the top 10 — Nemechek hit the wall and washed back across the track, his Toyota hitting Custer’s Ford. Custer was third in the championship entering the race.

Both teams made quick repairs to the cars, but they were non-competitive for the remainder of the race. Nemechek finished 32nd and Custer 33rd.

Seven races remain to set the 12-driver championship field. Next week the NASCAR Xfinity Series resumes action Saturday in the Henry 180 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI. (3 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

RESULTS

Hill escapes chaos to take yet another Xfinity win at Atlanta

In a race that started in chaos and ended in bedlam on the last lap, Austin Hill won his third NASCAR Xfinity Series race of the season, beating Daniel Hemric to the checkered flag in Saturday’s RAPTOR King of the Tough 250 at Atlanta Motor …

In a race that started in chaos and ended in bedlam on the last lap, Austin Hill won his third NASCAR Xfinity Series race of the season, beating Daniel Hemric to the checkered flag in Saturday’s RAPTOR King of the Tough 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

With his family in attendance, the Winston, Ga., native, led three times for a race-high 103 laps and dominated an event that featured a record 12 cautions for 68 laps.

NASCAR called the final yellow on the last lap, after a multi-car wreck erupted as Hill and Hemric approached the finish line.

Parker Kligerman made a race of it until the cars entered the frontstretch dogleg on the last lap. At the end of a two-lap dash to the finish, Kligerman’s Chevrolet turned sideways across the front bumper of Hemric’s car and hit the right rear of Hill’s No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevy.

Hill maintained control and took the checkered flag with Hemric trailing by 0.085s. Kligerman slid backwards across the finish line in fourth, as Ryan Truex edged him for the third spot by 0.001s.

“They knew we were here,” Kligerman radioed to his Big Machine Racing team.

The defending race winner, Hill came to Atlanta with victories at Daytona and Las Vegas and, understandably, the Xfinity Series lead. The win was Hill’s second at Atlanta and the fifth of his career.

The only thing that shook Hill all night was the contact with the right rear of his car in the final 100 yards.

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“I have no idea how I saved it coming to the line,” Hill said, after his young daughter ran out to greet him at the finish line. “What a start to the season. Everybody at Richard Childress Racing, ECR engines—we’ve just had such a fast start with Chevrolet. This has been special, for sure.”

Riley Herbst finished fifth, followed by Brett Moffitt, Josh Berry, John Hunter Nemechek, Sam Mayer and Justin Haley.

Hill won the first stage, and Kligerman gave Big Machine its first-ever stage victory in the second.

In the first two stages combined, the race featured more caution laps than green-flag laps—49 to 31, to be exact—the result of nine yellow flags.

Josh Williams’ No. 92 Chevrolet sustained damage in a lap 27 accident with the No. 02 Chevy of Kyle Weatherman, and when Williams dropped debris on the frontstretch to cause the fourth caution moments after the subsequent lap 32 restart, NASCAR parked him under the Damaged Vehicle Policy.

Instead of driving his car to the garage, however, a frustrated Williams parked it at the start/finish line. NASCAR ordered Williams to the hauler for a discussion of the incident, after he was released from the infield care center.

RESULTS