All eyes were on Richard Childress Racing driver No. 21 Austin Hill last night. He dominated the NASCAR Xfinity Series Bennett Transportation and Logistics 250. Hill, a native of Georgia, knew he had to perform on his home turf and earn his fourth win at Atlanta Motorspeedway. Despite veteran Joe Gibbs No. 19, Aric Almirola leading for several laps.
However, it wasn’t long before he took the win with a bump from Alpha Prime driver No. 04 Parker Retzlaff. Austin Hill candidly thanked Retzlaff for the push to the top and crossing the finish line for his 11th career win.
“Thank you to Parker Retzlaff for giving me that push, and then once I got clear and into turn one, I was just wide open, and I was hoping they weren’t going to build up momentum,” Hill said. “To be able to do this is something special,” he explained of the win.
Austin Hill’s Strong Finish
Barreling through the higher-than-average banking at Atlanta Motorspeedway, Austin Hill led for 145 of 163 laps for the win. The victory marks Hill’s first of the 2025 season after an upset at the United Rentals 300. He dipped in and out of the starting lineup, fighting with teammate Jesse Love for the lead. Austin Hill won stage two of the race and continued leading the field until a mechanical issue.
Unfortunately, the issue pushed him out of contention for the win, and he handed it to Jesse Love. Love also took the pole at Atlanta during Saturday morning qualifying, but Austin Hill fired back with Saturday’s win. Hill wasn’t about to let another win elude him after failing to clinch his fourth consecutive at Daytona.
Also in contention was Alpha Prime driver Parker Retzlaff and JR Motorsports driver Justin Allgaier, who Hill beat by 0.126 seconds. It seemed like a repeat of Daytona, with RCR drivers sweeping the field with a win and pole. Richard Childress Racing holds the record for its 99th Xfinity victory, thanks to his team’s performance over the past two races.
Joe Gibbs driver Aric Almirola spoke of the intense on-track battle with the RCR driver Austin Hill during the Bennett Transportation and Logistics 250.”He definitely had the dominant car, but I thought we might snooker one away,” Almirola said, battling Hill for the lead. “But it just wasn’t meant to be.”
Bennett Transportation and Logistics 250: Results |
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Start | Finish | No. | Driver | Team |
P2 | P1 | 21 | Austin Hill | Richard Childress Racing |
P4 | P2 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports |
P16 | P3 | 19 | Aric Almirola | Joe Gibbs Racing |
P12 | P4 | 08 | Sammy Smith | JR Motorsports |
P15 | P5 | 48 | Nick Sanchez | Big Machine Racing |
P20 | P6 | 27 | Jeb Burton | Jordan Anderson Racing |
P13 | P7 | 10 | Daniel Dye | Kauling Racing |
P29 | P8 | 70 | Leland Honeyman | Cope Family Racing |
P11 | P9 | 18 | William Sawalich | Joe Gibbs Racing |
P19 | P10 | 25 | Harrison Burton | Wood Brothers Racing |
P24 | P11 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing |
P30 | P12 | 99 | Matt DiBendetto | Viking Motorsports |
P7 | P13 | 20 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing |
P17 | P14 | 00 | Sheldon Creed | Haas Factory Team |
P3 | P15 | 11 | Josh Williams | Kauling Racing |
P1 | P16 | 02 | Jesse Love | Richard Childress Racing |
P31 | P17 | 44 | Brennan Poole | Alpha Prime Racing |
P26 | P18 | 71 | Ryan Ellis | DGM Racing |
P25 | P19 | 31 | Blane Perkins | Jordan Anderson Racing |
P14 | P20 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing |
P38 | P21 | 35 | Joey Gase | Joey Gase Racing |
P34 | P22 | 07 | Nick Leitz | Greenlight Racing |
P8 | P23 | 1 | Carson Kvapil | JR Motorsports |
P33 | P24 | 14 | Garrett Smithley | Alpha Prime Racing |
P21 | P25 | 92 | C.J. McLaughlin | DGM Racing |
P28 | P26 | 05 | Kris Wright | Our Motorsports |
P23 | P27 | 04 | Parker Retzlaff | Alpha Prime Racing |
P36 | P28 | 45 | Mason Massey | Alpha Prime Racing |
P9 | P29 | 16 | Christian Eckes | Kauling Racing |
P32 | P30 | 91 | Josh Bilicki | DGM Racing |
P37 | P31 | 53 | Mason Maggio | Joey Gase Motorsports |
P35 | P32 | 74 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing |
P27 | P33 | 28 | Kyle sieg | RSS Racing |
P10 | P34 | 88 | Connor Zilisch | JR Motorsports |
P22 | P35 | 26 | Dean Thompson | Sam Hunt Racing |
P5 | P36 | 41 | Sam Mayer | Haas Factory Team |
P18 | P37 | 42 | Anthony Alfredo | Young’s Motorsports |
P6 | P38 | 54 | Taylor Gray | Joe Gibbs Racing |
Final Thoughts
Will Richard Childress Racing vie for their third consecutive win of the season at the Focused Health 250? Or will Almirola prove that a Joe Gibbs driver can win for the first time since John Hunter Nemechek in 2023? Tune in on March 1st to catch the race live from Austin, Texas, at the Circuit of the Americas. Could other top contenders like Justin Allgaier or Parker Retzlaff lead the charge next? It seems possible based on the Bennett Transportation and Logistics 250 results, but it is still up for debate. Who will it be?