XFINITY: Austin Hill to Championship 4 with Surprising Dominant Win
The NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship 4 spots are filling up quickly. Austin Hill officially punched his ticket into the field of four drivers that will battle for the title in a couple of weeks at Phoenix Raceway with a dominant performance at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday evening.
The stirring performance was a bit surprising as Hill is more known for his drafting abilities at Daytona, Talladega, and Atlanta than he is closing out race wins at Homestead-Miami Speedway. But on Saturday, that's precisely what he did on his path to his fourth win of the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, and his first at a non-drafting track.
RACE RESULTS: NASCAR Xfinity Series Credit One NASCAR Amex Credit Card 300 at Homestead
For Hill, his berth in the Championship 4 field is the culmination of a season filled with a lot of hard work, and it all paid off with a perfectly timed dominant performance at Homestead.
"I work so hard at this. A lot of people doubt me, but I wake up every day to prove people wrong that I deserve to be here. I deserve to race for a championship," Hill stated emphatically. "This [No.] 21 team deserves it just as much as I do. They work their asses off each and every day, just like I do. I've got to give it up to those guys. They just gave me a hell of a car. I didn't have to go run the wall. I could run really wherever I wanted to."
Hill, 30, led the race on three occasions for a race-high 82 laps led, and on his march to the victory, the driver of the No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Camaro picked up the wins in Stage 1, and Stage 2. In the end, Hill was left chasing Cole Custer, a master of Homestead-Miami Speedway in the NASCAR Xfinity Series ranks, for the win in the closing laps.
Custer's prowess at the 1.5-mile South Florida race track was no match for Hill's ultra-quick car, which was able to turn blazing lap times from the bottom lane, high lane, literally any lane, down the stretch. Hill would get around Custer to take the lead for the final time on the backstretch with 12 laps remaining. As he crossed the finish line, an emotional Hill keyed up his team radio and he sounded like he was in tears.
After celebrating with his family on the frontstretch, Hill confirmed that he was in fact in tears inside of his race car.
"I can honestly say I've never cried coming to the start finish line, and I couldn't even get my emotions together going into Turn 1 after the checkered [flag]," Hill explained. "Just all of the hard work and dedication that goes into this, I don't think everyone is going to understand what this means to me, and my family, and for [sponsor] Bennett."
For Custer, the defending series champion, he missed out on an opportunity to secure his shot at fighting for a title at Phoenix Saturday at Homestead, as he finished second to Hill. Custer said he felt his car was the one to beat, but with changing track conditions as the race moved into the evening left his car simply too loose to contend.
"Man, I thought that second-to-last run we had it. The car was really good, we freed it up a little bit and definitely gained some speed," Custer explained. "That last run, for whatever reason, we got pretty free, and [Hill] seemed like they got way better than they were in the second-to-last run."
While it wasn't a Championship 4-berth-sealing win, Custer banked a lot of points throughout the race, and he leaves Homestead above the Playoff cutline, 28 points to the good with one race left in the Round of 8. He's happy with the points day, but he knows he needs to bring his a-game to Martinsville next weekend.
"Solid points day, we'll move into Martinsville, we've had good runs there before. Just gotta bring everything we've got there, because you never know who is going to win," Custer said.
Aric Almirola, who has two wins this season in a part-time mentorship role for Joe Gibbs Racing, finished the race in the third position in the No. 20 Toyota GR Supra, while Jesse Love, a Rookie of the Year contender vying for a Championship 4 spot, finished fourth.
Sheldon Creed, who continues to seek that elusive first NASCAR Xfinity Series win, put in another solid effort as he came home in the fifth position.
Riley Herbst, Ryan Sieg, Justin Allgaier, Sam Mayer, and AJ Allmendinger rounded out the top-10 finishers.
Chandler Smith, who started from the pole, was one of just two Playoff contenders to finish outside the top-10 as he came home in 13th. Smith lamented ineffective adjustments on his car throughout the race, which kept moving the No. 81 Toyota further and further back in the running order.
Sammy Smith was the lowest finishing Playoff contender as the young JR Motorsports racer came home 22nd in a frustrating day, where his No. 8 car wouldn't stop cording tires. Fortunately, Smith was able to finish the race without crashing out, but he wound up a lap off the pace, and now sits in a must-win situation heading into the final race of the Round of 8.
Next weekend, the NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to Martinsville Speedway for the final race of the Round of 8. After that event, the Championship 4 field will be fully set for championship weekend at Phoenix Raceway.
Heading into next week's date with Martinsville, Hill joins AJ Allmendinger as drivers who are locked into the Championship 4 of the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs. Justin Allgaier leaves Homestead as the third-place man in the Playoff standings, 35 points above the cutline. Custer, who finished runner-up, is 28 points above the cutline in fourth.
Chandler Smith (-28), Jesse Love (-35), Sam Mayer (-47), and Sammy Smith (-95) are the four drivers who will likely need a win at Martinsville Speedway next weekend in order to advance to the Championship 4.
The final race of the Round of 8 of the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs, the National Debt Relief 250 at Martinsville Speedway is scheduled for Saturday, November 2. That race will be televised on The CW beginning at 4 PM ET. The Motor Racing Network (MRN) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will carry the live radio coverage of the race.
Toby Christie is the Editor-in-Chief of Racing America. He has 15 years of experience as a motorsports journalist and has been with Racing America since 2023.