HAMPTON, Ga. — Austin Hill once again proved why Atlanta Motor Speedway is his home turf, delivering a commanding performance in the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ Bennett Transportation & Logistics 250 on Saturday night.
The Georgia native led 146 of 163 laps in his No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, securing his first victory of the 2025 season. With this win, Hill has now claimed four of the last six races at Atlanta, including a sweep of both events last year. Although he controlled most of the race, the victory didn’t come easily he briefly lost the lead on a late restart with just three laps remaining.
Thanks to a well-timed push from Parker Retzlaff, Hill regained control at the start of the final lap and held off reigning series champion Justin Allgaier and veteran Aric Almirola to take the checkered flag by a narrow 0.216-second margin.
“Big thanks to Parker Retzlaff for that push,” Hill said. “Once I got clear into Turn 1, I just went full throttle and hoped they wouldn’t build up momentum.”
Hill’s five Xfinity Series wins at Atlanta tie a record previously set by NASCAR Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick. Additionally, his eight career drafting-track victories put him alongside legends Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart in the record books.
He dominated both stages for the second straight race this season, keeping his 2025 stage win percentage at 100%. With teammate Jesse Love taking pole position, Richard Childress Racing (RCR) achieved a second consecutive weekend sweep of both pole and race victories. No other team has claimed a pole or a win in 2025. The win also marks RCR’s 99th Xfinity Series victory. Hill and Love led all but four laps of the race.
Almirola, who battled Hill in the closing laps, acknowledged Hill’s strength: “He had the dominant car, but I thought we might steal one at the end. It just wasn’t meant to be.”
Sammy Smith (JR Motorsports) and rookie Nick Sanchez (Big Machine Racing) rounded out the top five. A last-lap crash on the backstretch shuffled the finishing order, impacting several front-runners.
Jeb Burton, rookies Daniel Dye and William Sawalich, Leland Honeyman, and Harrison Burton completed the top 10. Kaulig Racing’s Christian Eckes recorded the race’s fastest lap.
With this victory, Hill takes the Xfinity Series points lead by one over Haas Factory Team driver Sheldon Creed, who was involved in the final-lap crash and finished 14th. Love, last week’s Daytona winner, placed 16th.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series returns to action next Saturday, March 1, for the Focused Health 250 at the Circuit of The Americas (2:30 p.m. ET, The CW, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
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