By: Zach Catanzareti, Staff Writer
Austin Hill had the race in the bag. Until it all fell apart.
Saturday’s Vet Tix / Camping World 200 for the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series at Atlanta Motor Speedway fell in Austin Hill’s lap when frontrunners Kyle Busch and Chase Elliott each had problems. Hill, who led for 36 laps total, looked to be on his way to Victory Lane with three laps to go.
Unfortunately for the Hattori Racing Enterprises Toyota, a spin by Elliott on the backstretch halted Hill’s run, throwing the race under caution and into an overtime finish on the 1.5-mile oval.
A dash to pit road and ensuing restart saw Grant Enfinger flash by Hill on the outside on the final lap and steal the victory in the series’ fourth race of 2020.
Despite the quick truck, Hill had to settle for second place. A bitter loss for the Georgia native.
“We had a dominating Tundra,” Hill said. “There at the end, we were just as good as the [No.] 51 [Kyle Busch] before he had his issues.
“All day on the restarts, it took our truck about five to seven laps to get going. On that white flag lap going into Turn 1 beside the [No.] 98 [Grant Enfinger], I drove in there deeper than I had all day.
“It got on the splitter a little bit and when it did, I just got tight and had to lift a little bit. I’ll take the blame on that one for not getting the win.”
Such a loss coming on his home track made the result even worse off. However, he’s confident to continue the speed on the Truck Series’ next stop, Homestead-Miami Speedway.
“They’re always tough to swallow when you’re that good and then you end up second,” he said. “It being my hometown, this is one of the race tracks I’ve wanted to win at ever since I was a little kid racing here when I was eight years old on the frontstretch. It hurts. It’s really frustrating.
“But, we’re just going to keep digging. We have that points lead and we’re hoping to keep it. I’m excited to go to Homestead. I think we have a really good truck there like we did last year. Hopefully we can get a win and get locked into the playoffs.”
With a fourth straight top-10 finish to start 2020, Hill has led in three of the four races this year and has now led the drivers points for three consecutive races.
Heartbreak for Austin Hill. So close. pic.twitter.com/S0evIQr4UK
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) June 6, 2020