Austin Hill to run a partial Cup schedule with Richard Childress Racing’s #33 car, Keith Rodden named as crew chief

Austin Hill is set to make his return to NASCAR's top-tier series, running select races for Richard Childress Racing in the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, the team announced on Friday (April 5).

Hill, who competes full-time for RCR in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, will drive the team’s third entry, the #33 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, in four Cup Series events, with primary sponsorship backing from his longtime partner, United Rentals. Keith Rodden is likely to be the crew chief of Hill.

The 29-year-old driver will make his first NASCAR Cup Series start of the season at next week’s Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas Motor Speedway on Apr. 14. His remaining schedule of three races has yet to be announced.

Torrey Galida, the president of Richard Childress Racing, said:

“We’re proud to represent a great brand like United Rentals, and to be a part of their efforts to help Austin achieve success at the next level.

"United Rentals is a long-time supporter of our sport and they have done a superb job of using their relationship with Austin to achieve their business goals from an on-site activation and hosting standpoint.”

Austin Hill has made six starts in the Cup Series, with a best finish of 14th, which came at the Daytona International Speedway in 2023. Last year, he made five starts in the series behind the wheel of Beard Motorsports’ #62 team.

The eight-time Xfinity Series winner has not competed at Texas’ 1.5-mile speedway in the Cup Series. He has finished inside the top-10 in the last three Xfinity races at the Texas Motor Speedway.

---

Austin Hill is excited to return for a partial Cup Series schedule with RCR

The Xfinity Series driver is happy to return to the NASCAR Cup Series with his Xfinity team, RCR. He thanked the RCR family and his longtime partner for giving him the opportunity and is looking forward to making every start count this season.

Austin Hill said:

“I’m happy to have another opportunity to race in the Cup Series for RCR. The amount of success that we’ve been able to accomplish together in the Xfinity Series makes me excited for this slate of races. It’s not going to be easy, competing against the best drivers on Sundays.”

“I’m thankful to Richard, everyone at RCR, and United Rentals for allowing this Cup Series schedule to come to life. Racing a Next Gen Chevrolet at a mile-and-a-half will be a new challenge, but one that I’m looking forward to.”

Coming to his 2024 Xfinity performance, Austin Hill has had a dream start to his campaign, winning the season's first two races at Daytona and Atlanta. He's second in the standings.