Austin Hill capitalized in emphatic fashion with his No. 21 team. (Photo: Jonathan Huff | The Podium Finish)
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Austin Hill begins his Xfinity Series tenure at Richard Childress Racing much like he did with Hattori Racing in the Truck Series back in 2019 – with a joyful triumph.
Hill beat AJ Allmendinger on the final lap of the Beef. It’s What’s for Dinner. 300 at Daytona International Speedway. However, the maiden victory for Hill was overshadowed by a heinous backstretch accident that involved Myatt Snider.
Per usual, superspeedway racing always bring out the madness, more so when the race comes down to the wire. Saturday’s 120-lap saga ended in a scary fireball and grass being kicked up.
Snider, after some contact with the No. 23 of Anthony Alfredo, hit the backstretch wall, eventually catching air, leading Snider’s No. 31 TaxSlayer Chevrolet into hitting the catchfence. The impact eviscerated the front and rear clips of the Jordan Anderson-owned Camaro.
Shortly thereafter, Snider got out of the car and noticed there wasn’t an engine left while part of the fuel compartment was stuck in the fence.
After leaving the scene, Snider was treated and released from the infield care center, sitting on a golf cart with reporters surrounding him.
Myatt Snider walked away from a harrowing last lap, backstretch crash. (Photo: Luis Torres | The Podium Finish)
“It’s the last lap and everybody’s trying their best to push as hard as possible. I’m trying to keep as much momentum as I can get. I felt a push and started feeling the car go right and I’m like – ‘Crap! I might be along for a ride and sure enough I was,” Snider, 27, explained with his viewpoint of the big wreck.
“I got turned around to the side and was facing backwards. I was starting to see the racetrack and I’m like, ‘This is getting better as it goes.’ I think what happened is that the left rear started yawing towards the fence and then the fence caught it. That’s what really started tearing everything up,” Snider continued.
“Then I got drugged into the grass from what I can tell. But I’m extremely blessed to be as okay as I am, and glad Jordan Anderson Racing built such a safe racecar. Man, I really wanted a top-five finish. We were so close and in contention all day. That’s just the nature of the beast in racing,” Snider concluded.
Snider added that he was “pretty banged up” with a sore left foot. He’ll have further evaluation tomorrow to see if he’ll be ready to go for Auto Club Speedway next Saturday.
“I think I should be fine to race,” said Snider. “It’s just a matter of getting the opinions of the experts. But yeah, I think I should be fine.”
While everyone was holding their breaths, there was a new race winner in Austin Hill, who brought RCR another Xfinity Series victory. He thanked spotter Derek Kneeland for helping him out as the No. 21 United Rentals Chevrolet had a strong showing all-race long, unwilling to settle back.
“I was learning all night. I kept telling him, ‘I’m just putting that in the bank, I’m putting that in the bank, I’m putting that in the memory bank to remember for late in the race,’” said Hill.
“We timed it perfectly. Obviously, that caution came out, but we had a heck of a run, so who knows what would have happened there.
“I was able to drag back, (Riley Herbst) gave me a heck of a push, we were able to get by him, and this is so crazy. I won it back in 2019 with a new team, now we’re with RCR, first race with them. We were able to get the job done. Our Bennett United Rentals Chevrolet was just as fast as Xfinity internet.
Austin Hill was king of the hill at Daytona. (Photo: Luis Torres | The Podium Finish)
“Man, I’m speechless. Andy Street, Richard Childress, just all these guys back at RCR for believing in me. It’s been a fun off-season, and now we get to go race for a championship.”
Team owner Richard Childress said Hill’s performance was the reason he hired him to join his Xfinity program.
“We knew he could win,” said Childress. “I’ve been watching his talent for several years in the trucks, and even watching him in some of the Xfinity races, and I knew that he has the talent to win. This won’t be the last one; I’ll predict that.”
Behind Hill was the aforementioned Allmendinger, who was once again a bridesmaid at Daytona. Rounding out the top-three was 2020 event winner Noah Gragson. Riley Herbst and Justin Allgaier rounded out the top-five.
Following a wild opener, the series heads West for the Production Alliance Group 300 in Fontana. Coverage begins Saturday, February 26th at 5:00 p.m. ET on FS1.
Top 10 Results: A. Hill, Allmendinger, Gragson, Herbst, Allgaier, Creed, Alfredo, R. Sieg, Bilicki and Brown
