Hill motors to victory in first of week’s two NASCAR trucks races at Kansas Speedway

A late caution and restart in Atlanta earlier this year cost Austin Hill his first victory of the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series season.

Hill was in that same position during Friday night’s Blu Emu Maximum Pain Relief 200 at Kansas Speedway, running alone in front, more than four seconds clear of the field.

A late caution was the only thing that could’ve slowed Hill’s runaway momentum. And it nearly happened.

Two trucks in the middle of the field of 38 collided with about five laps remaining, nearly causing that late caution. But the yellow flag never came out and Hill cruised to his first victory of the season and fifth Trucks series win of his career.

“Only thing I had seen was somebody going down backstretch and looked like they had a right front tire down,” he said. “Those last 20 laps felt like longest race of my life, and I was like, ‘What’s going to happen next? How late will the caution come out and what kind of restart will we get?’

“There were a lot of things going through my head. I was just so glad it stayed green. It made my life a lot easier just being able to finish it off.”

Hill started the day leading the series’ points race despite not being one of two points-eligible drivers to win a race. He dominated Friday, leading for 65 of the 134 laps. He crossed that to-do off the list, joining Grant Enfinger (two wins) and Sheldon Creed (one win).

Just one thing: Hill couldn’t celebrate with a traditional post-race burnout. The trucks series will be on the track again tomorrow at noon for the second race of a doubleheader weekend, so Hill couldn’t afford to ruin his vehicle’s engine.

Not that he minds.

“It’s a lot of weight off my shoulders,” he said. “I’ve been beating myself up, not getting the win in Atlanta, and it’s a big relief to be locked in the playoffs and have that momentum going forward.”

Brett Moffitt finished second and Grant Enfinger was third. Those two spent much of the final stage of the race battling each other, which helped Hill build his insurmountable lead.

“I wish I could’ve been more efficient getting by Grant,” Moffitt said. “This tire combination, both times we ran it at Vegas and here, I’ve been extremely free.

“We need to figure out a way to tighten it up ... We were too free-firing to keep the 16 (car, Hill) behind us. We have a package we’re building on, and we keep getting better each week.”

Both Moffitt and Enfinger were aware of the near caution that wasn’t.

“I don’t know how (a late restart) would’ve played out,” Enfinger said. “I would’ve liked the opportunity. If it was a five-lap shootout, I like our chances.”

Kansas City, Kan. native Jennifer Jo Cobb started Friday night’s race 36th and finished 31st.

The Trucks Series resumes Saturday at Kansas Speedway with the EPT 200 at noon.

Blue Emu Maximum Pain Relief 200 results

Starting position in parentheses

1. (6) Austin Hill, Toyota, 134 laps, 59 points. 2. (2) Brett Moffitt, Chevrolet, 134, 45. 3. (8) Grant Enfinger, Ford, 134, 34. 4. (17) Matt Crafton, Ford, 134, 39. 5. (15) Derek Kraus, Toyota, 134, 43. 6. (7) Zane Smith, Chevrolet, 134, 42. 7. (5) Ben Rhodes, Ford, 134, 41. 8. (10) Sheldon Creed, Chevrolet, 134, 33. 9. (18) Johnny Sauter, Ford, 134, 28. 10. (3) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 134, 34. 11. (19) Ty Majeski, Chevrolet, 134, 33. 12. (25) Brennan Poole, Toyota, 134, 0. 13. (1) Christian Eckes, Toyota, 134, 33.

14. (4) Brandon Jones, Toyota, 134, 0. 15. (16) Chase Purdy, Chevrolet, 134, 22. 16. (12) Raphael Lessard, Toyota, 134, 21. 17. (23) Austin Wayne Self, Chevrolet, 134, 20. 18. (13) Tanner Gray, Ford, 134, 20. 19. (24) Timmy Hill, Chevrolet, 133, 18. 20. (27) Cory Roper, Ford, 133, 17. 21. (21) Natalie Decker, Chevrolet, 133, 16. 22. (28) Tate Fogleman, Chevrolet, 133, 15. 23. (30) Spencer Boyd, Chevrolet, 133, 14. 24. (29) Codie Rohrbaugh, Chevrolet, 133, 13. 25. (26) Dawson Cram, Toyota, 133, 12. 26. (34) Robby Lyons, Chevrolet, 132, 0.

27. (14) Stewart Friesen, Toyota, 132, 10. 28. (33) Clay Greenfield, Toyota, 132, 9. 29. (20) Spencer Davis, Toyota, garage, 131, 8. 30. (32) Jordan Anderson, Chevrolet, 129, 7. 31. (36) Jennifer Jo Cobb, Chevrolet, 128, 6. 32. (35) Ray Ciccarelli, Chevrolet, 121, 5. 33. (9) Tyler Ankrum, Chevrolet, 112, 4. 34. (11) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, brakes, 102, 0. 35. (31) Korbin Forrister, Toyota, accident, 80, 2. 36. (38) Norm Benning, Chevrolet, handling, 50, 1. 37. (37) Bryan Dauzat, Chevrolet, garage, 26, 1. 38. (22) Kevin Donahue, Toyota, garage, 17, 0.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 126.35 mph. Time of Race: 1 hour, 35 minutes, 27 seconds. Margin of Victory: 2.928 seconds. Caution Flags: 4 for 19 laps. Lead Changes: 17 among 8 drivers.

Lap Leaders: C.Eckes 0; B.Moffitt 1-8; T.Gilliland 9-23; B.Moffitt 24-32; C.Eckes 33-35; B.Rhodes 36; C.Eckes 37-40; A.Hill 41-63; B.Rhodes 64-65; C.Eckes 66-68; Z.Smith 69-85; R.Chastain 86; M.Crafton 87; A.Hill 88; M.Crafton 89; A.Hill 90-91; B.Moffitt 92-95; A.Hill 96-134

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Led, Laps Led): A.Hill, 4 times for 65 laps; B.Moffitt, 3 times for 21 laps; Z.Smith, 1 time for 17 laps; T.Gilliland, 1 time for 15 laps; C.Eckes, 3 times for 10 laps; B.Rhodes, 2 times for 3 laps; M.Crafton, 2 times for 2 laps; R.Chastain, 1 time for 1 lap.

Wins: G.Enfinger, 2; A.Hill, 1; S.Creed, 1.

Top 16 in Points: 1. A.Hill, 359; 2. B.Rhodes, 319; 3. S.Creed, 301; 4. C.Eckes, 300; 5. B.Moffitt, 298; 6. Z.Smith, 296; 7. G.Enfinger, 286; 8. T.Gilliland, 268; 9. M.Crafton, 264; 10. D.Kraus, 257; 11. T.Ankrum, 253; 12. J.Sauter, 231; 13. S.Friesen, 213; 14. T.Gray, 197; 15. R.Lessard, 189; 16. T.Majeski, 187.

This story was originally published July 24, 2020 at 9:13 PM.