LONG POND, Pa. — Most times, fresh tires and a full tank of gas is a must to secure a spot in victory lane. Austin Hill didn’t need either, as the Richard Childress Racing driver survived a frantic overtime restart at Pocono Raceway to score his fourth NASCAR Xfinity Series victory of the season in the Explore the Pocono Mountains 225.
Hill restarted fourth, though the flood gates opened when race-leader Josh Berry overshot the corner heading into turn one. With Berry up high, Hill wheeled his No. 21 Chevrolet around Ryan Sieg and Sam Mayer to secure the point.
While Berry would gather it back up and make another run at Hill on the final lap, the JR Motorsports driver’s demise came on the backstretch after he and teammate Mayer made contact.
The contact cut Berry’s tire, sending the driver of the No. 8 into the wall heading into turn two.
Another crash would ensue behind the leaders, forcing NASCAR to display the yellow flag, promptly ending the race.
“We didn’t have the best car all day,’’ Hill said. “Andy (Petree) and all the guys back at RCR engines worked really hard. We got the car better. I thought we were maybe a top-five or top-seven car. I didn’t think we had anything for the leader today.
“On that restart he drove into one and got really loose into the entry… we drag raced down the backstretch and once I cleared him (Berry) I knew I just had to hit my marks.
“Such a special win,” he added. “Obviously with fuel saving, we didn’t know if we were going to make it and it was on my mind going into the Tunnel Turn (turn two) that I had to get back to the start-finish line. I had enough fuel to do a burnout so we saved enough.”
While Hill celebrated his sixth career Xfinity Series win, Berry suffered a heartbreaking loss. Berry finished 24th after leading a race-high 51 laps.
Mayer finished runner-up for the second time this season, equalling his season-best result. The stellar performance, however, was overshadowed by the contact between himself and Berry.
Hill crosses the checkered flag to win at Pocono. (David Moulthrop Photo)
“I’m just, trying to win a race,” a deflated Mayer said. “It sucks because, it’s a teammate of course and he’s backwards in the fence. I feel really bad because I put my car there and risked that and didn’t even think about the outcome.
“It sucks for this organization, our Accelerate Camaro was really, really fast today. I was super proud of staying in the game with all the damage that we had, all the crazy crap that happened today. But, it’s tough to watch that.
“Coming around after the checkered flag and seeing the 8 backwards in the fence, it just sucks to see that because I feel like I caused that, I probably did.”
NASCAR Cup Series regular Chase Elliott ended his day in third for Hendrick Motorsports.
On the same strategy as Hill, Herbst managed to hold on for a fourth place finish. Though the Stewart-Haas Racing driver was primed for a victory had the race stayed caution-free.
Kaulig Racing’s Daniel Hemric rounded out the top-five finishers, with Sammy Smith, Brandon Jones, Brett Moffitt, Parker Kligerman and Daniel Suarez completing the top 10.
What Else Went Down
• Starting from the pole Berry led all 20 laps of the opening stage to win a caution-free Stage One.
• While teammate Allgaier hounded Berry’s rear bumper in the closing laps, Berry held off the No. 7 to earn the Stage Two victory.
• The beginning of Stage Three saw a stack-up in the middle of the pack, with Smith turning teammate John Hunter Nemechek down the track into Cole Custer.
Justin Allgaier on track at Pocono. (Dennis Bicksler Photo)
Nemechek and Custer would limp around the rest of the event, finishing 32nd and 33rd, respectively.
It would be the end of Nemechek’s reign in victory lane, after scoring the last two Xfinity Series wins on the schedule (Atlanta Motor Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway).
• After another restart with 40 laps to go, Allgaier and Berry surged to first and second around Suarez. A spirited battle between Allgaier and Berry went Berry’s way as he retook the lead with 35 laps to go.
• Allgaier was the first to pit between the front two, pitting for four tires with 33 laps to go. Berry pit four laps later, shooting out in front of Allgaier when blending back up from the pits.
• In the midst of a lengthy green flag run, Herbst, Mayer and Hill all remained on track in an attempt to save fuel to the checkered flag.
• Though a caution changed everything with 11 laps to go. Joey Gase slowed up through turn two when Allgaier drilled the back bumper of Gase, sending the No. 35 spinning. Allgaier sustained substantial damage.
• The ensuing restart brought another caution with Connor Mosack getting into the wall from 27th.
• Overtime would decide the Xfinity Series finish for the second week in a row, with Hill prevailing.
Keyword: Old Tires? No Problem For Hill, Earns Pocono Xfinity Win