Austin Hill Ties Best Career Finish at Chicagoland

By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer

The right strategy helped Austin Hill tie his career best finish in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at Chicagoland Speedway. Hill came close to improving but settled for a ninth-place finish in the Overton’s 225.

In the final stage of the race, Hill waited to make his final pit stop, hoping for a caution. Unlike previous races, the strategy worked for the driver of the No. 02 Young’s Building Systems / Randco Chevrolet Silverado. A late-race caution left Hill as one of only 10 drivers still on the lead lap. On the final restart, he climbed to sixth before slowly slipping back to ninth by the checkered flag.

Hill had been running just inside the top-15 prior to the final caution of the night. The strategy that crew chief Chad Kendrick chose moved his driver up the running order, battling with Grant Enfinger, last week’s winner Justin Haley, and Brandon Jones. However, the powerhouse teams of ThorSport Racing, GMS Racing, and Kyle Busch Motorsports cruised by the Chevrolet fielded by Young’s Motorsports.

The ninth-place finish ties Hill’s best career finish at Martinsville Speedway earlier this season. It is also his fifth career top-10 finish and third this season. Hill remains 12^th in the Championship Points Standings, 250-points behind Points Leader Johnny Sauter, and 91-points behind the cutoff, held by Ben Rhodes.

Prior to the Overton’s 225, Hill competed in the ARCA Racing Series Scott 150 at the Joliet, Illinois track. The 24-year-old earned his first-career top-10 in ARCA competition while driving for MDM Motorsports.

Now Hill, Kendrick, and the entire Young’s Motorsports team will have two weeks to prepare for the Buckle Up in Your Truck 225 at Kentucky Speedway on Thursday, July 12. It will be his 40^th start in the Truck Series.