HILL EARNS CAREER-BEST FINISH AND SECOND CONSECUTIVE TOP-TEN SCORE
Austin Hill made his sixth start at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway in Monday’ssnow-postponed NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) Alpha Energy Solutions 250. After getting faster each practice session, he qualified 15th for the 250-lap event and despite damage to his United Rentals No. 02, Hill recorded his second consecutive top-10 score.
STAGE 1 RECAP:
Started Stage 1 – P15
Finished Stage 1 – P15
On Saturday, the field took the green-flag as scheduled, Hill started from the 15th position, but during a caution on lap 15 the NCWTS officials postponed the Alpha Energy Solutions to Sunday and then eventually Monday morning due to snow. Once back to racing on Monday, Hill ended the opening stage in 15th.
STAGE 2 RECAP:
Started Stage 2 – P16
Finished Stage 2 – P18
Under caution on lap 76, crew chief Chad Kendrick called Hill to pit road for four tires, fuel and an adjustment to aid the United Rentals No. 02 from being loose on entry to the corners. On lap 85, a multi truck spin happened in front of the Winston, Ga., native and he was forced to check up, but unfortunately did receive damage to the front of his Chevrolet Silverado. Under the caution, Hill came to pit road for repairs and restarted from 19th on lap 91. He then pit for four tires, fuel, another adjustment and more repairs from 18th when the caution was displayed on lap 116 and restarted in 22nd. In the closing laps, Hill gained four positions to end the second stage in 18th.
STAGE 3 RECAP:
Started Stage 3 – P3
Finished Stage 3 – P9
Hill pit for an adjustment and fuel on lap 144 and as a result of some pit strategy, he was able to gain 15 positions to restart the final stage from the inside of the second row. He survived three early cautions in Stage 3 and Kendrick called the No. 02 to pit road from 11th for four tires and fuel on lap 221. The 23-year-old restarted from 16th on lap 229 and survived two more cautions to climb his way forward to earn a career-best ninth-place finish.
“We were definitely hoping for a better result, but to help Austin get his career-best finish means a lot to me,” said Kendrick. “We are getting better as a team and an organization each and every race. I am already excited for our group to get back to Martinsville in the fall and vie for an even better finish.”
WILSON EARNS TOP-20 FINISH IN NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES DEBUT
Reid Wilson competed in his career-first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) race during Monday’s snow-postponed Alpha Energy Solutions 250 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. He was in the top-20 of each practice sessionon Friday and made the second round of qualifying on Saturday to earn the 20th starting position for the 250-lap race.
STAGE 1 RECAP:
Started Stage 1 – P20
Finished Stage 1 – P20
Wilson started Stage 1 from the outside of row 10 and maintained his position when an early caution was displayed on lap 15. While under caution, NCWTS officials postponed the event to Sunday and eventually Monday due to snow. When the race resumed Monday morning, Wilson restarted the opening stage from 20th and finished in 21st reporting that the No. 20 OEM2 powered by TrüNorth Chevrolet was loose entering the corner.
STAGE 2 RECAP:
Started Stage 2 – P18
Finished Stage 2 – P14
On lap 76, crew chief Andrew Abbott called Wilson to pit road for four tires, fuel and an adjustment to aid his entry into the corners. During a multi-truck spin on lap 85, Wilson received slight damage to the rear of his No. 20 as he checked up to avoid trucks spinning in front of him. The 21-year-old rookie survived another caution and restarted in the top-10 on lap 121. He ended Stage 2 in 14th reporting that the OEM2 powered by TrüNorth No. 20 was tight.
STAGE 3 RECAP:
Started Stage 3 – P19
Finished Stage 3 – P16
On lap 144, Wilson brought the No. 20 to pit road for four tires, fuel and an adjustment to restart the final stage from 19th. He was caught up in a multi-truck spin on lap 158 and returned to pit road for repairs to the front of the OEM2 powered by TrüNorth Chevrolet. Unfortunately, the No. 20 team received a penalty for too many crew members over the wall and had to restart at the tail end of the field. The Huntersville, N.C., native survived two more cautions and received the Lucky Dog to regain his lap and restart in 15th with 21 laps remaining. On a lap 238 restart, Wilson received contact from behind and spun. After getting straightened out, he restarted from 17th on lap 243 and gained one more position to earn a 16th-place finish in his NCWTS debut.
“I am extremely impressed with Reid in his Truck debut this weekend,” said Young’s Motorsports team principal, Tyler Young. “To be able to come to Martinsville and complete every lap and earn a 16th-place finish is quite the feat. It is a technical track, with a lot of bumping and banging and he survived everything thrown at him. We are looking forward to having Reid be back behind the wheel of the No. 20 soon.”
NEXT RACE:
Young's Motorsports next race will be the NCWTS Race at Dover (Del.) International Speedway on Friday, May 4.
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