Austin Hill dethrones legends Dale Earnhardt and Tony Stewart to claim NASCAR’s exclusive feat

At Talladega Superspeedway during the Ag-Pro 300 NASCAR Xfinity Series race, Austin Hill broke a long-standing record. Hill edged out Jeb Burton and Jesse Love in a three-wide photo finish, decided by an electronic timestamp after a final-lap crash.

Hill’s win officially made him the all-time leader in superspeedway victories in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. With this win, Austin Hill surpassed two of NASCAR’s biggest legends, Dale Earnhardt and Tony Stewart, each previously tied with him at eight superspeedway wins. Hill now has nine career wins on drafting-style tracks like Talladega, Daytona, and Atlanta.

Jesse Love made contact with race leader Connor Zilisch just after the white flag. Zilisch spun into the infield wall, triggering the caution while Hill, Burton, and Love battled three-wide.

NASCAR confirmed Hill’s No. 21 Chevrolet was ahead when the field was frozen. This timing gave Hill his first-ever win at Talladega and his third win of the 2025 season. Talking about the win, Hill told NASCAR.com,

"Man, we really had to work for that one... it just shows the 21 team can win at any [superspeedway] and we’re really good at this style of racing."

Other than Austin Hill taking the win, Jesse Love finished third. Justin Allgaier finished fourth, while Matt DiBenedetto secured his best-ever Xfinity finish with fifth place. Anthony Alfredo, Blaine Perkins, Harrison Burton, Sheldon Creed, and Daniel Dye rounded out the top 10. Appreciating the driver who ended 2nd, Hill shared,

"I thought the 2 [Love] was really good and when we got the push from the 2 going into [turn] one, he got inside of me and I thought that was a bad mistake and I should have covered it. So I thought we were done." (via NASCAR.com)

Heading next into Texas Motor Speedway for the Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 on May 3, Hill is currently second in the points standings, behind Justin Allgaier by 79 points. Coverage will start at 2 p.m. ET on The CW.

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Austin Hill reflects on the controversial Martinsville wreck and takes responsibility

Previously, Austin Hill had spoken about a different race incident that had drawn attention — the wreck fest at Martinsville Speedway during the US Marine Corps 250. Hill opened up about his role in a multi-car crash in the final stage, where he misjudged a bump on Christian Eckes, causing a chain reaction that took out teammates Jesse Love and Carson Kvapil as well.

Frustrated by Eckes’ earlier moves against him, Hill admitted that he intended to return the favor but miscalculated. Speaking to reporters, Hill said (via Bob Pockrass on X),

"I completely misjudged getting into the back of the #16 [Eckes]. You can go back and listen to my interview after Martinsville. Right when I got into the #16, I got free with the rear tires and I was starting to like wheel hop. So then I got off the brake pedal for a second, I got back to it, and I didn't realize that the #16 was already really tight to the #2 [Love] and the #2 was really tight to the #1 [Kvapil] and it just caused a chain reaction." [1:06 onwards]

"I stand strongly on how the race went, as far as my part in it. I completely misjudged the #16 mishap and I wish I wouldn't have taken the #2 and the #1 out. But that was, I mean honestly, that was just a racing error on my part," he added. [2:28 onwards]

Austin Hill also addressed a separate incident with Carson Kvapil, where he refused to lift after Kvapil cut across his nose. Despite all this, Austin Hill ultimately benefited from it. The final lap crash allowed him to take the win at Martinsville.