Austin Hill Survives Multiple Challengers to Sweep Atlanta in Xfinity Series

Austin Hill survived multiple attempts to be passed in the final laps of the RAPTOR King Of Tough 250 to secure his fourth win of the Xfinity Series season. The second date for the series at Atlanta Motor Speedway was decided in a 14-lap sprint after a crash with 18 laps to go, wiping out the majority of the leaders and bringing out the red flag.

Justin Allgaier's right front was cut while battling Cole Custer for second, the blown tire caused Allgaier to spin back through the field collecting the next two rows. The No. 81 of Chandler Smith was in the lead, avoiding the wreck, and Hill snuck through without damage.

On the restart, Smith and Hill started next to each other on the front row, with Hill getting the jump on Smith and sliding across his nose to secure the lead.

Hill held his lead, and with three laps to go, Smith attempted to make a pass on the leader with fellow Toyota driver Corey Heim directly behind him.

On the next lap, Smith gets to Hill's back bumper, and the No. 21 was almost turned completely sideways before straightening up into the entrance of turn three. Smith attempts to pass, but his teammate Heim doesn't follow.

Instead, Heim fell in line behind Hill, and the No. 21 kept the lead. On the final lap, Heim made his last-ditch effort to win and secure his playoff spot but ended up in the wall. Hill was caught off guard by the push by Heim, assuming that even though Heim and Smith are not teammates for next year, he would still support the other Toyota driver.

"The handle on it was tough all day; we had to dig deep for that one," Hill told NASCAR on NBC. "The No. 81 got into three and got me jacked up. He’s doing what he has to do to try and win. I’m very surprised that the No. 26 pushed me there and didn’t go with a Toyota."

When asked if Smith felt the same way as Hill about Heim not backing him after the restart, he agreed.

"We’re Toyota teammates, and I got clear out of the Toyota restart zone and could’ve went to the bottom and hung him up top to be the leader of the top lane," Smith explained. "I didn’t I stayed up top with my Toyota teammate and ultimately gave up the lead doing that. I expected my Toyota teammate to come with me and that didn’t happen. It is what it is."

Heim explained that he didn’t go with Smith because he believed where Smith attempted to make the pass wasn't worth it.

"At the end of the day, the move was going to be made on a straightaway and not in the middle of the corner," Heim said on an optimal winning pass. "He wanted me to push him by. I feel like if he had just dropped back and dropped to my bumper out of four on the straightaway and had both of us an opportunity to win the race, I would’ve gladly pushed him. Why go to the bottom at the point?”

Hill apologized for his contact with Heim, saying he didn't mean to run him into the fence.

"I thought I messed up into one and two, and I hate that he got into the fence," Hill said. "I wasn’t trying to run him into the fence; I was just trying to get him Aero-tight or Aero-loose; that was happening to me a lot today; if anyone ran up the track from the bottom, I would have big moments."

You Might Also Like

• You Need a Torque Wrench in Your Toolbox

• Tested: Best Car Interior Cleaners

• The Man Who Signs Every Car