Austin Hill is seeking to make historical past this weekend as the one NASCAR Xfinity Collection driver to ever win the primary three races of a season, and he has a terrific likelihood to take action.
A number of drivers have received the primary two races of the Xfinity Collection season, together with Dale Earnhardt in 1986, Chad Little in 1995, and Tony Stewart in 2008, however Hill is seeking to go the additional mile because the Xfinity Collection heads to Las Vegas.
Hill would not be the primary driver to win three races in a row in NASCAR’s second-tier sequence, as Mark Martin (1997) Kyle Busch (2016) each received three consecutive in some unspecified time in the future within the 12 months, however no driver has ever began the season with three consecutive victories.
Whereas Hill is named a superspeedway ace, it is value noting his first non-superspeedway win within the Xfinity Collection was at Las Vegas Motor Speedway — the identical observe the sequence is heading to this weekend as Hill is on the verge of historical past.
Whereas Hill did not dominate final 12 months’s race, successful on a last-lap cross, he proved on this previous weekend’s race at Atlanta that every one he must do is put himself in place to go to victory lane. As dramatic as final 12 months’s end was, he’d in all probability choose a calmer race on Saturday.
No matter how wild or tame Saturday’s race is, making historical past will not be a straightforward process for Hill. Chandler Smith, who fell sufferer to Hill’s late race cost in Las Vegas a 12 months in the past is certain to be a contender on Saturday, as is Hill’s former teammate Sheldon Creed, who has completed second and fourth respectively within the first two races of the season. Riley Herbst will seemingly be within the combine as properly, as he is recent off of his first profession win on the observe final October.
Even when Hill’s bid for historical past comes up brief, garnering 11 playoff factors within the first two races is an unbelievable begin to the season. However a 3rd win in three races would give Hill 16 playoff factors, a mark that is onerous to achieve for a lot of the playoff discipline by a 26-event common season, a lot much less three races.
Hill will get his shot at historical past in Las Vegas at 5 p.m. ET on Saturday. The race will air on FS1, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
