Austin Hill expresses ‘disbelief’ over Martinsville Xfinity triumph amid chaotic final lap finish

Austin Hill may have taken the checkered flag at Martinsville Speedway, but he expressed disbelief over how the race went down. The Richard Childress Racing driver admitted feeling surprised by the victory following a chaotic last-lap restart.

Hill, driver of the No. 21 Chevrolet Camaro, was running in fifth place when Sammy Smith wrecked Taylor Gray from the lead on the final lap. He pushed Justin Allgaier to Smith before snatching the lead on the bottom and winning the race.

In a post-race interview with The CW Sports, the NASCAR Xfinity Series driver was asked whether he expected to finish in first place on Saturday.

"No, not at all," Hill said. "I chose the bottom because of how rough everybody was on restarts. I had to do what I had to do on the last lap." [0:09]

"On that restart, it just got wild [...] We were definitely leaning on each other, and getting into (Turn) three, I knew we were all going to get beating and banging, and I just drove it in as deep as I could. They all hit each other, and I hit the #7 (Allgaier) a little bit and dumped him off... and came home with the win" he added. [0:54]

Describing his thoughts after the chaotic short track action, Hill said:

"Man, I’m in disbelief that we’re in Victory Lane right now. It’s unbelievable. I actually said at the end of the race that I hated this place because of all the beating and banging that was going on." [1:22]

In addition to the race win, Austin Hill won the $100,000 prize money courtesy of Xfinity through the Cash 4 Dash program. The Martinsville triumph is his second win for 2025 and RCR's 100th victory in the second-tier stock car racing series.

Sheldon Creed, Justin Allgaier, Brennan Poole, and Sam Mayer completed the top five finishing list at the 0.526-mile track. Meanwhile, Sammy Smith and Taylor Gray dropped from 1st and 2nd to 10th and 29th, respectively.

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"I'm extremely sorry": Austin Hill on wrecking RCR teammate Jesse Love at Martinsville

In the same post-race interview, Austin Hill touched on causing a multi-car crash on lap 217 that collected his Richard Childress Racing teammate Jesse Love. Hill apologized to Love, who settled with a DNF while he walked out of the race weekend with a win.

The wreck stemmed from Austin Hill bumping the No. 16 of Christian Eckes, pushing Eckes to the No. 2 of Jesse Love, who was running in seventh place. Carson Kvapil (No. 1) was also involved in the incident off turn one.

Speaking about his teammate's unfortunate end at Martinsville Speedway, the Georgia native said:

"I'm extremely sorry to our teammate for getting in that wreck down in (turn) one." [0:26]

"Started wheel hopping a little bit, and once I got under control, I hit the #16, and it took out the #2," he explained. "I feel really really bad for wrecking a teammate like that. I might have to give him a call after the race."

Austin Hill driving the No. 21 Chevrolet Camaro at Martinsville Speedway - Source: Imagn

After an eventful Martinsville race, the NASCAR Xfinity Series grid heads to Darlington Raceway for the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200. The 147-lap race is scheduled for April 5 at 3:30 p.m. ET on The CW Sports.