“I don’t really say this often”: RCR ace comes clean about Chevrolet after ‘stinging’ Daytona race

RCR’s Austin Hill entered the United Rentals 300 last Saturday at Daytona International Speedway with a mission: to win his fourth consecutive season opener. His No. 21 Bennett Transportation Chevrolet Camaro had the speed, so he was looking at a possible home run.

However, late in Stage 3, his car started experiencing some mechanical issues. His cockpit started smelling of oil and smoke, and with 40 to go, he brought his car back to the RCR pit stall for adjustments. He returned to the race several laps down and had to settle for a disappointing P33 finish.

Addressing the unexpected turn of events during an official press release, the 30-year-old RCR driver said,

“I don't really say this often, but I thought that our Bennett Chevrolet was class of the field. I always say that we can make our cars better; I think we could have made that car better, but I think that that might have been one of the best cars I've had on a superspeedway. So that stung a lot.”

Hill did sweep both stages, marking a good day points-wise. But the result was still upsetting, as winning the race would have gotten him an automatic spot in the playoffs.

This coming weekend, Hill will be at Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Bennett Transportation & Logistics 250, a NASCAR Xfinity Series race that he won last year. If he does it again, he will perhaps find some solace following last week’s heartbreaking Daytona outing.

Scheduled for February 22, the 163-lap event will be televised on CW, with live radio updates on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Fans can tune in from 5 pm ET. Tickets to the grandstands are now available on the track’s official website.

RCR’s Xfinity superspeedway cars prove untouchable yet again at Atlanta Motor Speedway

Austin Hill’s teammate at RCR and last week’s winner Jesse Love won the pole for the upcoming race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. It was also his third straight pole at the 1.5-mile quad-oval intermediate speedway in Hampton, Georgia.

“Yeah, I drive fast race cars, and that obviously helps,” Love said during a post-qualifying interview. “We have big power, and my crew chief Danny Stockman is really good at his job as well. Qualifying time, my job is pretty easy, and my job is tough tomorrow night.”

Austin Hill’s car was just 0.063 seconds behind Love’s qualifying run. Hill will start second, making the front row all about the championship-winning organization. As per sources, he qualified at 174.378 miles per hour.

The Georgia native is now eyeing his fifth victory in the last six races. With its recent reconfiguration, Atlanta Motor Speedway might just give the coming week’s race an extremely competitive edge.

Hill would still be one to look out for. After all, he won both races at Atlanta last season and he’s coming back for a three-peat.