Richard Childress Racing has a reputation for being a superspeedway powerhouse in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Naturally, Austin Hill — who picked up his first NASCAR win in 2019 in the Craftsman Truck Series at Daytona International Speedway — was a good fit when he joined the team ahead of the 2022 season.
But it would be hard to imagine anyone thought Hill would be this strong on superspeedways for RCR.
In eight superspeedway starts since joining the Xfinity Series full-time, including three at the reconfigured Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hill has led 410 of 1,098 laps. In other words, he’s paced the field 37.3% of the time. In two fewer starts, Noah Gragson has led the second-most laps (109).
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“I expect to go out and lead laps, run up front and try to control the race,” Hill told NASCAR.com of his superspeedway prowess. “It’s just the mentality that this whole 21 team has. One reason why we’re finding success is that I have a fast race car.
“The other side of it is, I want to go lead; I don’t want to go ride in fifth. The further forward you are in the pack – and if you’re leading – you have a less percentage of getting wrecked.”
Hill believes if he’s at the front of the field contending each lap, he’s not riding in limbo. He also thinks his spotter Derek Kneeland, who works with Kyle Busch in the Cup Series, is the best in the garage at spotting at superspeedways.
Before Hill joined RCR, Kneeland didn’t know Hill enough to even say hello in the garage. The duo met for breakfast before Daytona in 2022 to get to know each other. Hill recalled Kneeland giving him some pointers on how successful Tyler Reddick and he were on superspeedways in the past.
“Derek and I both have that same mentality; we don’t care to ride,” Hill said. “We want to lead laps and run up front. It just works out that way that we’re very aggressive guys, and he makes aggressive calls. It just works.”
Of the three national touring divisions, Kneeland believes the Xfinity cars suit his spotting style the best. The only preparation they do together for superspeedways is a call the morning of the race.
“When that green flag flies, we go out there to try to dominate the race,” Kneeland said. “That’s all we care about. Our connection, for some reason, works well together. He’s not a follower; he’s a leader, so he’s not afraid to try something.”
During the week, Hill would rather emphasize other tracks on the schedule.
“I’m being truly honest about this, I do the least amount of studying on superspeedways,” Hill noted. “One reason I don’t is because I think every superspeedway race that you run plays out differently from the next. Like Atlanta from this year, totally a different race from the two races last year. Daytona, the race played out totally different than it did last year. Just the way the runs were coming.”
Before winning his full-time series debut at Daytona last February, Kneeland recalled Hill telling him that he vividly dislikes superspeedway racing. But after having success, Hill’s mindset has changed drastically on the style of racing. It’s been an evolving process, dating back to his Truck Series days.
“I had no clue what I was doing, honestly,” Hill recalled winning the truck race at Daytona in 2019. “I was just doing moves, taking runs and doing things that came naturally.”
Now, Hill knows precisely what he’s doing on superspeedways. And it shows with an average finish of 7.6 in eight starts while driving the No. 21 Chevrolet, including four wins.
“I think a lot of guys on superspeedways get in the rhythm where they are just riding behind somebody, and I just don’t like that,” Hill said. “I like to take the risk of going out there, making the pass and making it work. I think Derek and I have a good bond right now where it’s almost like when he keys up to say something, I’m already thinking in my head what he’s about to say, and I’m already reacting.
“One thing that a lot of drivers do that I don’t do is they probably think, ‘Ah, should I take this move.’ At that point, the move was already gone. You shouldn’t have thought about it; you should have just reacted. I try to think about my moves, but if a big run comes, I just take it. I’m not even thinking about the consequences of it.”
MORE: Xfinity Series standings | 2023 Xfinity Series schedule
Hill enters this weekend’s race at Talladega Superspeedway as the driver to beat. He’s been untouchable in the two drafting races this season, winning at both Daytona and Atlanta. In those races, he led 142 of 288 total laps (49.3%).
In both Talladega races last season, the No. 21 car was the dominant car. Unlike Daytona and Atlanta, however, he doesn’t have the finishes to show for it. Last spring, he was collected in a late wreck while running inside the top five when Sam Mayer got turned sideways. In the fall, he led more than half the race but made a wrong block late on Noah Gragson and dropped to 14th.
Hill is looking to rebound from a mediocre performance at Martinsville Speedway last weekend. After being just the third driver in series history to win three of the opening five races in a season, he dropped from the points lead for the first time in 2023.
As such, a win at Talladega would be huge for the Georgia native, and not solely from a better momentum standpoint. He grew up roughly an hour away from the 2.66-mile track and attended many races at the superspeedway growing up. And his first chance in 2023 to pick up a win there will come on April 22 in the Ag-Pro 300 (4 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
“It would be just as special as winning at Atlanta like I’ve done,” Hill said. “If everything works out and we do all the right things and make all the moves at the right time, then we can do it.”
