Austin Hill Wins the NASCAR Xfinity Race at Talladega

Mark Rebiles

Talladega, AL - RIS - Austin Hill won at Talladega Superspeedway in the NASCAR Xfinity Series after a last-lap wreck involving Connor Zilisch forced the race to end under yellow. This victory marked his record ninth Xfinity Series win. Hill, the all-time leader in superspeedway wins and laps led in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, had one thing he’d yet to add to his resume; a win at Talladega Superspeedway.

  Zilisch led the field down the backstretch when a push gone wrong by Jesse Love sent him spinning towards the infield wall. The caution waved and Hill was declared the leader at the yellow after a review with Jeb Burton second and Love third.

Justin Allgaier and Matt DiBenidetto made up the rest of the top-five, which was unofficial at the time of posting. 

Drivers from the shops of Richatd Childers   controlled the race from the outset with polesitter Love fending off teammate Hill for the stage 1 win. Sheldon Creed, Christian Eckes, and Ryan Sieg made up the rest of the top five in the stage.

The beginning of the race with Parker Retlzaff being the only car that went behind the wall due to a break issue. A caution free stage 2 ended with Hill picking up a stage win. Love, Aric Almirola, Nick Sanchez and Sammy Smith captured stage points as top five finishers.

The final stage saw the field jumbled up by green flag pit stops with RCR starting the cycle with 45 laps to go. Toyotas from Joe Gibbs Racing pitted five laps later and cycled into the lead with Almirola and Brandon Jones controlling the pack.

Zillisch controlled the field over the final seven green flag laps. His best challenge came on the final lap when Jeb Burton took momentum from the top lane to move alongside Zilisch on the bottom. Momentum from Love and Hill pushed Zilisch to the lead before sending him spinning.

Next for the Xfinity series is Fort Worth Texas and Texas Motor Speedway on May 3, 2025.

Unofficial Results; Ag-Pro 300, April 26, 2025 - Talladega Superspeedway
Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Laps, Sta, St2, Tms Led, Laps Led, Playoff Pts, Pts, Status
1) 2, Austin Hill, No. 21 Bennett Transportation Chevrolet, 113, 2, 1, 2, 19, 6, 59, Running
2) 5, Jeb Burton, No. 27 Golden Corral Chevrolet, 113, 10, 7, 2, 7, , 40, Running
3) 1, Jesse Love, No. 2 WAT Chevrolet, 113, 1, 2, 6, 50, 1, 53, Running
4) 3, Justin Allgaier, No. 7 Hellmann's Chevrolet, 113, 9, 8, 1, 1, , 38, Running
5) 12, Matt DiBenedetto, No. 99 Viking Motorsports Chevrolet, 113, , , , , , 32, Running
6) 19, Anthony Alfredo, No. 42 Dude Wipes Chevrolet, 113, , , 1, 1, , 31, Running
7) 31, Blaine Perkins, No. 31 Bommarito Automotive Group Chevrolet, 113, , , , , , 30, Running
8) 29, Harrison Burton, No. 25 DEX Imaging Ford, 113, 8, 10, , , , 33, Running
9) 11, Sheldon Creed, No. 00 Ollie's Ford, 113, 3, , 1, 9, , 36, Running
10) 8, Daniel Dye #, No. 10 Black Widow Trucks Chevrolet, 113, , , , , , 27, Running
11) 6, Taylor Gray #, No. 54 Operation 300 Toyota, 113, , , , , , 26, Running
12) 28, Patrick Emerling, No. 07 MAD Heavy Haul Chevrolet, 113, , , 1, 1, , 25, Running
13) 21, Leland Honeyman, No. 70 Mezrano Alabama Injury Lawyers Chevrolet, 113, , , , , , 24, Running
14) 34, Sam Mayer, No. 41 Audibel Ford, 113, , , , , , 23, Running
15) 23, Nick Sanchez #, No. 48 Pickers Vodka Chevrolet, 113, 7, 4, 1, 1, , 33, Running
16) 9, Ryan Ellis, No. 71 Classic Collision Chevrolet, 113, , , , , , 21, Running
17) 20, Carson Kvapil #, No. 1 First Bank of Alabama Chevrolet, 113, , , , , , 20, Running
18) 22, Dean Thompson #, No. 26 Thompson Pipe Group Toyota, 113, , , , , , 19, Running
19) 37, Brennan Poole, No. 44 Clark's/CW & Sons Chevrolet, 113, , , , , , 18, Running
20) 36, Jesse Iwuji, No. 91 Chevrolet Accessories Chevrolet, 113, , , , , , 17, Running
21) 4, Joey Gase, No. 53 Hoover AV Chevrolet, 113, , , , , , 16, Running
22) 32, Mason Maggio, No. 66 Denssi Energy Pouches Chevrolet, 113, , , , , , 15, Running
23) 26, Kyle Sieg, No. 28 RSS Racing Ford, 113, , , , , , 14, Running
24) 24, Kris Wright, No. 5 First National Bank Corp Chevrolet, 113, , , , , , 13, Running
25) 15, Christian Eckes #, No. 16 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet, 113, 4, , 2, 2, , 19, Running
26) 10, Jeremy Clements, No. 51 One Stop/All South Electric Chevrolet, 113, , , 1, 1, , 12, Running
27) 13, Connor Zilisch #, No. 88 WeatherTech Chevrolet, 112, , 6, 3, 9, , 15, Accident
28) 16, Brandon Jones, No. 20 Menards/Lyons Toyota, 112, , , 3, 8, , 9, Running
29) 7, Josh Williams, No. 11 Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet, 111, 6, , , , , 13, Running
30) 38, Caesar Bacarella, No. 45 Simcraft Chevrolet, 108, , , , , , 7, Running
31) 14, Sammy Smith, No. 8 Pilot Chevrolet, 107, , 5, 1, 1, , 12, Running
32) 30, Jeffrey Earnhardt, No. 24 ForeverLawn Toyota, 102, , , , , , 5, Accident
33) 17, Aric Almirola, No. 19 Young Life Toyota, 100, , 3, , , , 12, Accident
34) 27, Katherine Legge(i), No. 32 e.l.f. Cosmetics Chevrolet, 100, , , 1, 1, , 0, Accident
35) 25, Greg Van Alst, No. 35 CB Fabricating Chevrolet, 80, , , 1, 2, , 2, Accident
36) 35, Ryan Sieg, No. 39 Sci Aps Ford, 78, 5, , , , , 7, Accident
37) 18, William Sawalich #, No. 18 Soundgear Toyota, 75, , 9, , , , 3, Engine
38) 33, Parker Retzlaff, No. 4 KeenParts.com Chevrolet, 52, , , , , , 1, Accident
(i) Ineligible for driver points, (#) Rookie

Race Length: 113 Laps, 300.58 Miles
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 10 Mins, 31 Secs.
Average Speed: 138.18 MPH
Margin of Victory: Under Caution

Fastest Lap Bonus: No. 51, lap 33, 49.64 sec

Stage 1 Top 10: 2, 21, 00, 16, 39, 11, 48, 25, 7, 27
Stage 2 Top 10: 21, 2, 19, 48, 8, 88, 27, 7, 18, 25

Comments: Austin Hill won the Ag-Pro 300 at Talladega Superspeedway, his 13th victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

Prior to the start, the following cars dropped to the rear of the field under penalty for the reason(s) indicated: No. 42, 44, 45 (Unapproved Adjustments).

Failed to Qualify: (3) 14 Garrett Smithley, 87 Austin Green, 29 Jake Garcia(i).

Cautions: 5 for 23 laps;
Laps: 27-31 (Stage 1 Conclusion [42]);
52-56 (Stage 2 Conclusion [None]);
80-85 (No. 35, 8, 39, 4 incident turn 1 [07]);
102-107 (No. 19, 32, 20, 24 incident backstretch [11]);
113-113 (No. 2, 88 incident backstretch [None]).

Lead Changes: 26 among 15 drivers;
J. Love 1-27;
P. Emerling 28;
J. Love 29-31;
C. Eckes # 32;
J. Love 33-34;
S. Smith 35;
J. Love 36;
C. Eckes # 37;
J. Burton 38-43;
A. Hill 44-52;
A. Alfredo 53;
J. Love 54-68;
B. Jones 69-73;
J. Clements 74;
K. Legge(i) 75;
G. Van Alst 76-77;
B. Jones 78;
S. Creed 79-87;
B. Jones 88-89;
J. Love 90-91;
C. Zilisch # 92-97;
A. Hill 98-107;
N. Sanchez # 108;
C. Zilisch # 109-110;
J. Allgaier 111;
C. Zilisch # 112;
J. Burton 113.

Unofficial Points Ag-Pro 300 - Talladega Superspeedway
Rank, Driver, Car, Starts, GL, Points, Ldr, Nxt, Race Wins, Stage Wins, Playoff Pts
1) Justin Allgaier, 7, 11, 0, 449, 0, 0, 2, 3, 13
2) Austin Hill, 21, 11, 1, 370, -79, 79, 3, 5, 20
3) Sam Mayer, 41, 11, -1, 347, -102, 23, 0, 1, 1
4) Jesse Love, 2, 11, 0, 340, -109, 7, 1, 1, 6
5) Carson Kvapil #, 1, 11, 0, 306, -143, 34, 0, 0, 0
6) Connor Zilisch #, 88, 11, 1, 299, -150, 7, 1, 2, 7
7) Brandon Jones, 20, 11, -1, 293, -156, 6, 1, 0, 5
8) Sammy Smith, 8, 11, 0, 293, -156, 0, 1, 1, 6
9) Jeb Burton, 27, 11, 2, 291, -158, 2, 0, 0, 0
10) Sheldon Creed, 00, 11, 0, 290, -159, 1, 0, 0, 0
11) Ryan Sieg, 39, 11, -2, 284, -165, 6, 0, 0, 0
12) Harrison Burton, 25, 11, 0, 276, -173, 8, 0, 2, 2
13) Daniel Dye #, 10, 11, 0, 267, -182, 9, 0, 0, 0
14) Nick Sanchez #, 48, 11, 3, 251, -198, 16, 0, 1, 1
15) Taylor Gray #, 54, 11, -1, 249, -200, 2, 0, 0, 0
16) Dean Thompson #, 26, 11, -1, 239, -210, 10, 0, 1, 1
17) Christian Eckes #, 16, 11, -1, 237, -212, 2, 0, 0, 0
18) Brennan Poole, 44, 11, 0, 218, -231, 19, 0, 0, 0
19) Jeremy Clements, 51, 11, 0, 209, -240, 9, 0, 0, 0
20) Josh Williams, 11, 11, 0, 206, -243, 3, 0, 0, 0
21) Aric Almirola, 19, 5, 0, 198, -251, 8, 1, 1, 0
22) Parker Retzlaff, 4, 10, 0, 186, -263, 12, 0, 0, 0
23) Anthony Alfredo, 42, 11, 0, 186, -263, 0, 0, 0, 0
24) Matt DiBenedetto, 99, 11, 0, 179, -270, 7, 0, 0, 0
25) Blaine Perkins, 31, 11, 3, 154, -295, 25, 0, 0, 0
26) Kyle Sieg, 28, 11, 0, 150, -299, 4, 0, 0, 0
27) Ryan Ellis, 71, 11, 0, 147, -302, 3, 0, 0, 0
28) William Sawalich #, 18, 11, -3, 146, -303, 1, 0, 0, 0
29) Kris Wright, 5, 11, 1, 106, -343, 40, 0, 0, 0
30) Josh Bilicki, , 7, -1, 101, -348, 5, 0, 0, 0
31) Garrett Smithley, , 9, 0, 93, -356, 8, 0, 0, 0
32) Leland Honeyman, 70, 6, 0, 89, -360, 4, 0, 0, 0
33) Patrick Emerling, 07, 5, 1, 83, -366, 6, 0, 0, 0
34) Joey Gase, 53, 6, -1, 75, -374, 8, 0, 0, 0
35) Justin Bonsignore, , 4, 0, 54, -395, 21, 0, 0, 0
36) Mason Massey, , 5, 0, 45, -404, 9, 0, 0, 0
37) Mason Maggio, 66, 5, 9, 36, -413, 9, 0, 0, 0
38) Greg Van Alst, 35, 8, 0, 33, -416, 3, 0, 0, 0
39) Nick Leitz, , 3, -2, 32, -417, 1, 0, 0, 0
40) Caesar Bacarella, 45, 2, 2, 31, -418, 1, 0, 0, 0
41) Jordan Anderson, , 1, -2, 30, -419, 1, 0, 0, 0
42) Alex Labbe, , 2, -2, 30, -419, 0, 0, 0, 0
43) Thomas Annunziata, , 4, -2, 26, -423, 4, 0, 0, 0
44) Kasey Kahne, , 1, -1, 23, -426, 3, 0, 0, 0
45) Brad Perez, , 2, -1, 23, -426, 0, 0, 0, 0
46) Patrick Staropoli, , 1, -1, 21, -428, 2, 0, 0, 0
47) Ryan Truex, , 1, 0, 20, -429, 1, 0, 0, 0
48) Austin Green, , 3, 0, 19, -430, 1, 0, 0, 0
49) Jesse Iwuji, 91, 1, -49, 17, -432, 2, 0, 0, 0
50) Corey Day, , 1, -1, 16, -433, 1, 0, 0, 0
51) Cj Mclaughlin, , 2, -1, 16, -433, 0, 0, 0, 0
52) Vicente Salas, , 1, -1, 13, -436, 3, 0, 0, 0
53) Carson Ware, , 2, -1, 12, -437, 1, 0, 0, 0
54) David Starr, , 1, -1, 11, -438, 1, 0, 0, 0
55) Myatt Snider, , 2, -1, 11, -438, 0, 0, 0, 0
56) Dawson Cram, , 2, -1, 7, -442, 4, 0, 0, 0
57) Jeffrey Earnhardt, 24, 1, -57, 5, -444, 2, 0, 0, 0
58) Sage Karam, , 1, -2, 5, -444, 0, 0, 0, 0
59) Preston Pardus, , 1, -2, 1, -448, 4, 0, 0, 0
60) Baltazar Leguizam?n, , 1, -2, 1, -448, 0, 0, 0, 0
61) Kyle Larson(i), , 2, -2, 0, -449, 1, 1, 2, 0
62) William Byron(i), , 1, -2, 0, -449, 0, 0, 1, 0
63) Alex Bowman(i), , 1, -2, 0, -449, 0, 0, 1, 0
64) Chase Elliott(i), , 1, -2, 0, -449, 0, 0, 0, 0
65) Ross Chastain(i), , 2, -2, 0, -449, 0, 0, 0, 0
66) Corey Heim(i), , 3, -2, 0, -449, 0, 0, 0, 0
67) Riley Herbst(i), , 1, -2, 0, -449, 0, 0, 0, 0
68) Christopher Bell(i), , 1, -2, 0, -449, 0, 0, 0, 0
69) Katherine Legge(i), 32, 2, -2, 0, -449, 0, 0, 0, 0
70) Carson Hocevar(i), , 1, -2, 0, -449, 0, 0, 0, 0
71) Tyler Tomassi, , 0, -2, 0, -449, 0, 0, 0, 0
72) Jj Yeley(i), , 0, -2, 0, -449, 0, 0, 0, 0
73) Jake Garcia, , 0, -73, 0, -449, 0, 0, 0, 0
 -Ldr/-Nxt = Points behind Leader/Next higher