Austin Hill wins wild Xfinity Series race at Atlanta for season sweep

Austin Hill held off stout charges from multiple drivers to win the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday.

Austin Hill defended stout charges late from numerous competitors to score the NASCAR Xfinity Series victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday.

Hill, winner of the series’ February visit to the 1.5-mile drafting-style track, was victorious by 0.34 seconds over Parker Kligerman, AJ Allmendinger, Chandler Smith and Corey Heim, who completed the top five.

On the final lap, Heim darted to Hill’s right in Turn 1 but was unable to complete the move allowing Kligerman and others through to hunt Hill toward the checkered flag. Instead, Hill wheeled the No. 21 Richard Childress Chevrolet to Victory Lane for the fourth time in six Atlanta starts.

A significant crash at Lap 145 eliminated multiple contenders for the win. The wreck was triggered entering Turn 3 when Justin Allgaier, Cole Custer and Taylor Gray collided on entry after close side drafts down the backstretch, all running second through fourth. Riley Herbst, Ryan Sieg and Jesse Love all received damage as well, with Sieg and Custer suffering too much damage to continue.

Sam Mayer, a two-time winner this season, crashed out at Lap 78 after contact with Taylor Gray exiting Turn 4. Mayer’s spotter, Kevin Hamlin, took blame after telling Mayer his No. 1 Chevrolet was clear on corner exit. The contact from Gray’s left front to Mayer’s right rear sent Mayer into the wall, knocking the rear bumper loose off Mayer’s JR Motorsports entry and knocking an oil line loose, creating a fire as Mayer battled to Turn 1. Mayer safely brought the car to a stop before exiting quickly under his own power and was later evaluated and released from the infield care center.

Sieg, who entered Saturday 10 points beneath the elimination line, suffered an electrical issue early that brought his No. 39 RSS Racing Ford to a halt at Lap 12. His crew was able to diagnose and fix the problem but not before Sieg fell two laps behind the leaders. Sieg received one of his laps back at the conclusion of Stage 2 and got back onto the lead lap after a Lap 98 caution after Shane van Gisbergen, a three-time winner in 2024, contacted the wall in Turns 3 and 4. Sieg was running inside the top 10 when he was caught up in the Lap 145 crash.

This story will be updated.