While it may only be half over, Austin Hill has had a pretty good 2022. The 28-year-old from Winston, GA added the Alsco Uniforms 250 NASCAR Xfinity Series race Saturday afternoon at Atlanta Motor Speedway to his growing list of superlatives.
Hill held off a strong charge from JR Motorsports driver Josh Berry in the No.8 Harrison’s USA Chevy to grab the checkered flag. His year started off with a bang as Hill welcomed the birth of his son and youngest child Barrett to the family in January. Barrett joined his dad on stage for the driver introductions before the race.
Austin is riding a wave of success. In October, he took another step up the racing ladder after Richard Childress Racing signed him to their Xfinity Series team.
About a month after his son’s birth, Hill won his first Xfinity Series race taking the flag in a dramatic finish down at Daytona. https://youtu.be/QVAV1tnCLL8
The first-place finish gives Hill two wins and eight top-ten finishes midway through the season. Hill was noticeably overjoyed with the win. “To win at a place that I grew up racing at, I can’t really put into words,” said Hill. “It’s just so special. It’s top of the list of wins for me right now, and definitely something I’ll remember for the rest of my career.”
Runner-up Josh Berry won the first stage but believed he let this race slip away. “I got a little bit of a run on Austin (Hill) and I saw Daniel (Hemric) dive down to the bottom (on the last lap),” admitted Berry. “My spotter and I were a bit too conservative there at the end.”
The No. 21 car ran well all day allowing Hill to lead the most laps including the final 48. “My spotter, Derek (Kneeland) told me that if I could get the lead on that last restart, to go get it, and control the race,” said Hill. He did exactly that all the way to victory.
RACE PHOTOS
All photos credit Jason McDonald, JM Photography for CORE360 Sports