Austin Hill Wins at Talladega; Breaks Superspeedway Win Record

Austin Hill celebrating in Victory Lane after winning the Ag-Pro 300 at Talladega Superspeedway. (Photo: Riley Thompson | The Podium Finish)

LINCOLN, Ala. — Austin Hill captured the win in the Ag-Pro 300 at Talladega Superspeedway following a review of the three-wide battle between himself, Richard Childress Racing teammate Jesse Love and Jeb Burton.

The review was due to a caution on the final lap after Connor Zilisch was turned off of the front end of Love’s car while leading the race on the back straightaway. Officials ruled that Hill was narrowly ahead of Burton when the caution flag was displayed, handing the win to the No. 21 team.

“We really had to work for that one,” Hill said post-race. “I thought the (No.) 2 (Love) was really good, and when we got the push from the (No.) 2 going into (Turn) 1, he (Love) got inside of me and I thought that was a bad mistake on my part. I should have covered the run that he had. So, I thought we were done, and I just locked in and kept pushing the heck out of the (No.) 2 car.”

Austin Hill doing a burnout after winning the Ag-Pro 300 at Talladega Superspeedway. (Photo: Hayden Hutchinson | The Podium Finish)

The win is Hill’s third on the season and his first at Talladega Superspeedway. He also became the winningest driver in NASCAR Xfinity Series history on “superspeedway-style” racetracks with nine career victories, breaking a tie with Tony Stewart and the late Dale Earnhardt.

“To finally conquer Talladega, that’s something I’ve wanted to do for a really long time,” said Hill. “To finally get it down at all the different superspeedways we go to just goes to show this (No.) 21 team can win at any of them.”

Zilisch was on the receiving end of the last lap battle for the lead after he went around off the bumper of Love’s No. 2 car following a block and hit the inside wall, finishing in 27th place. When looking back at the incident, Zilisch was grateful to be alright after hitting the wall so hard and thought the finish was a typical product of superspeedway racing.

Austin Hill (No. 21) battling Connor Zilisch (No. 88) at Talladega Superspeedway. (Photo: Riley Thompson | The Podium Finish)

“Very grateful to drive safe JR Motorsports racecars,” he said. “Maybe I just stay up top and let him (Love) have it, but last lap at Talladega, you’re going to try and stay in the lead. It’s just part of this racing.”

He also shared a moment with Love, who came to check on Zilisch after the incident on the final lap in the infield care center.

“Jesse’s probably my best friend in the world,” said Zilisch. “I’m grateful to have someone like him who can come and stand in front of me and give me a hug after that.”

Burton was ruled the runner-up finisher after the caution was thrown on the final lap, finishing one spot short of his third career NASCAR Xfinity Series win. After watching the replay, Burton shared his frustration and confusion about the decision after the race.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series field battling for position during the Ag-Pro 300 at Talladega Superspeedway. (Photo: Hayden Hutchinson | The Podium Finish)

“I feel like when the caution flew, I was ahead of the (No.) 21 (Hill),” Burton said. “They need to go look at it because every angle I keep seeing, we win the race. We’re going to protest if you can protest, do whatever the hell we can do because I think we won this race.”

For Burton, the frustration over the finish stems from having a real opportunity to win a race with his Jordan Anderson Racing No. 27 team, which is a smaller team in the garage and something he got emotional about while speaking with the media.

“It’s just, we don’t have a lot of chances to win,” he said. “That’s what’s frustrating. That’s it.”

Finishing in third place was Love, who led a race-high 50 laps. Justin Allgaier finished in fourth place and Matt DiBenedetto rounded out the top five.

Stage 1 Top 10 Results

1. Jesse Love
2. Austin Hill
3. Sheldon Creed
4. Christian Eckes
5. Ryan Sieg
6. Josh Williams
7. Nick Sanchez
8. Harrison Burton
9. Justin Allgaier
10. Jeb Burton

Stage 2 Top 10 Results

1. Austin Hill
2. Jesse Love
3. Aric Almirola
4. Nick Sanchez
5. Sammy Smith
6. Connor Zilisch
7. Jeb Burton
8. Justin Allgaier
9. William Sawalich
10. Harrison Burton

Ag-Pro 300 at Talladega Superspeedway Finishing Results