After restarting seventh on an overtime restart, Austin Hill avoided the chaos unfolding around him to slip past the leaders coming to the checkered flag and earn his second win of the season in dramatic fashion at Martinsville Speedway.
The win marked the 100th in the storied Xfinity Series history of Richard Childress Racing as an organization and resulted in a $100,000 bonus as the No. 21 team claimed the Dash 4 Cash bonus.
Hill emerged the winner, while Sheldon Creed followed him through to second. Justin Allgaier finished third, while Brennan Poole and Sam Mayer completed the top five finishers.
Rookies Dean Thompson and Daniel Dye scored solid finishes of sixth and seventh, respectively, with Ryan Sieg finishing eighth and Kris Wright ending up ninth.
Sammy Smith, who opened the door for Hill to win with his aggressive move on Taylor Gray in the final corner, rounded out the top 10 finishers.
While the race concluded with total chaos, pole winner Connor Zilisch led wire-to-wire in a relatively calm stage one slowed only once for caution when Corey Day and Harrison Burton tangled entering turn 1.
Powerhouse organizations Jr Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing established their dominance early as all eight of their entries ran inside the top 10 for much of the opening stage, with seven of them staying there to claim stage points.
After winning the race off pit road following the end of stage one, Brandon Jones found himself up front ahead of Zilisch to open stage two. While Jones’ fortunes appeared to be changing, bad luck once again struck him as Garrett Smithley spun directly ahead of him and Zilisch.
While Jones avoided serious contact, Zilisch piled into his left rear as he slowed, damaging both lead cars. Although Zilisch was able to stay out, Jones was forced to pit and once again charge from the back.
Just past the halfway point in stage two, drama between teammates presented a big setback for Dash 4 Cash contender Sam Mayer when contact with fellow Haas driver Sheldon Creed sent Mayer’s No. 41 into the wall. After also incurring a pit road penalty when he came to tend to the resultant damage, Mayer started stage three with a lot of ground to m .
When a caution flew late in stage two, many leaders like Allgaier and Aric Almirola opted to pit and flip the stage to start the final segment with better track position, while others like Zilisch stayed on the racetrack to earn stage points and start stage three on fresher tires.
Zilisch completed the sweep of the stages by winning stage two ahead of a top five full of rookies in Carson Kvapil, William Sawalich, Dye and Nick Sanchez. As a result of running long to claim the stage, Zilisch would find himself restarting 13th with an already damaged car to start the final sta
After a strong pit stop and an excellent start to stage 3, Gray claimed the lead and began to control the pace of the race. While Gray held strong out front, the question of when to put on that last set of tires came the forefront of every crew chief’s mind, especially as a series of cautions unfolded within the closing 75 laps.
Through the final stage, different drivers like Sawalich and Eckes took their chances on old tires before the lead cycled back to Gray as the laps wound down inside 50 to go.
When a red flag came out for a major incident eliminating drivers like Eckes, Dye, and Sanchez inside 20 to go, Gray stood in charge of the lead over Smith in second, while Allgaier in third controlled the Dash 4 Cash battle ahead of Creed, Hill, and Mayer who occupied positions five through seven.
More trouble for Zilisch brought out yet another caution with only nine laps remaining, forcing Gray to survive yet another frantic restart. With only two laps remaining, Smith made his move on the restart.
Restarting third as the second car on the inside behind Gray, Smith moved Gray up the track in turn 1 and slipped past to claim the lead. Before Smith could round turn 4 and take the white flag, a caution for a Matt DiBenedetto spin set up yet another climactic restart, this one in overtime.
With roles reversed entering overtime, Gray returned the favor to Smith and reclaimed the lead coming to the white flag looking to earn his first career win. Unfortunately for Gray, a big move by Smith entering the final set of corners sent both drivers up the track, allowing Hill to push Allgaier up the track and subsequently pass all three leaders coming to the flag, improbably winning both the race and the Dash 4 Cash bonus.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series returns to action next Saturday, April 5, from Darlington Raceway, with coverage starting at 3:30 p.m. ET on CW