<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=140naE_0wOHDk8r00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=140naE_0wOHDk8r00" width="640" height="426" ><figcaption>Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography</figcaption></figure><p>You may recall the opening to last week’s Xfinity Breakdown where I said the postseason brings out the best in our NASCAR Xfinity Series championship contenders.</p><p>Well, the same thing happened this week with a different driver: Austin Hill. </p><p>The No. 21 Richard Childress Racing driver qualified 16th at Homestead-Miami Speedway but had a great long-run car. He won both stages and got past Cole Custer with about 12 laps left to take the win in the NXS Credit One NASCAR AMEX Credit Card 300.</p><p>The third stage saw multiple strategies, with several cars staying out as long as they could in case a caution flag waved. Hill and Custer both pitted with about 40 laps to go; AJ Allmendinger pitted from the lead around lap 180. But in the end, it was the long-run pace of the Nos. 21 and 00 that bested the competition.</p><p>Custer finished second while Aric Almirola was third. Jesse Love was fourth and Sheldon Creed rounded out the top five.</p><h2>Winners</h2><p>While <b>Hill’s</b> playoff run hasn’t been terrible, he only had led seven laps in this year’s postseason stretch coming into Homestead. Primarily known for his superspeedway skills, a run like this one was a tad unexpected. Hill does have a couple wins at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Pocono Raceway, both coming last season.</p><p>But anything can happen in the playoffs; a team can get a car’s setup just right, and the driver can avoid all the trouble on the racetrack. That’s exactly what happened with Hill, and this kind of performance is scary for the other playoff drivers.</p><p><b>Custer</b> was passed by Hill late in the race, and although it wasn’t a win, the No. 00 Stewart-Haas Racing team has to feel good about its run. Custer earned points in both stages and came home second entering the next-to-last race of the year. It was his second runner-up finish in the playoffs, adding to a second place at Kansas Speedway (also with NXT on CW aboard the car).</p><p>Custer should perform similarly at Martinsville Speedway next week, though that track is obviously known for a lot of beatin’ and bangin’. He’ll look to stay out of harm’s way in his trek to the Championship 4.</p><p>Ryan Sieg also had a good day, gaining 10 positions from where he qualified to finish seventh. Like Custer and Hill, Sieg finished in the top 10 in both stages: 10th in stage one and fourth in stage two.</p><p>While it wasn’t quite the run that Sieg had last week, it was still very strong and it makes me wonder how the points might look if he had made the playoffs. But, I’m sure Sieg doesn’t dwell on the “what-ifs” and just looks forward to the next race and how to build on these good results.</p><h2>Losers</h2><p><b>The Smiths</b> didn’t have good outings at Homestead. I mean, sure, Chandler Smith started from the pole and led some laps, but he eventually faded in the final stage. To make matters worse, it looked like he ran over the jack during the last pit stop, getting it stuck under the car. The stop ended up being about 20 seconds, way too long for the playoff contender.</p><p>It also doesn’t help that he doesn’t have a ride lined up for next year. Nowadays, it’s not enough to just have wins in Xfinity and Trucks; drivers also need lots of money to compete.</p><div style="position:relative;width:100%; height:0; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/E3xVsUKPBog?feature=oembed" allowfullscreen frameborder="0" style="width:100%; height:100%;top:0; left:0; position:absolute"></iframe></div><p>Sammy Smith‘s troubles started from pretty much the beginning of the race. Just before the end of stage one, he had to pit for a flat tire after he hit the wall.</p><p>Smith was never able to earn stage points, and his team had to go under the hood at one point, putting him back a lap down. It’s definitely not what the JR Motorsports driver needed, making Martinsville a must win next Saturday if he wants to race for a championship.</p><p>Chandler Smith finished 13th (which wasn’t bad considering the slow stop), while Sammy Smith came home 22nd.</p><p>A driver who isn’t running full time but has earned multiple victories this season is Ryan Truex, who drove the No. 26 for Sam Hunt Racing. Unfortunately, his run turned south when Josh Williams had a flat tire and drifted up into Truex, sending him spinning around lap 121. Truex was running about 13th at the time and wasn’t able to recover from the incident, finishing 21st.</p><h2>Playoff Pit</h2><p>With both Allmendinger and Hill locked into the Championship 4, that leaves two spots up for grabs among the remaining six playoff drivers. Justin Allgaier and Custer are both somewhat comfortably above the cut line, sitting 35 and 28 points over, respectively.</p><p>Chandler Smith is the first one below the cut line, while Love is 35 points out. Sam Mayer is 47 points underneath, and Sammy Smith is 95 out. The latter two need to win Martinsville if they want to compete for the title.</p><h2>Paint Scheme(s) of the Week</h2><p>If you watched last year’s race at Martinsville Speedway, you saw several paint schemes celebrating Halloween, most notably DGM Racing. My personal favorite was the Beetle Josh black-and-white scheme, complete with matching firesuit for Josh Williams.</p><p>Well, DGM is once again sporting “Hallowschemes,” as the team calls it, but with a much different approach from last season.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">We are heading your way soon, <a href="https://twitter.com/HomesteadMiami?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer">@HomesteadMiami</a>! 🦩💀🦈 Who’s ready for the Halloween spirit?<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NASCARPlayoffs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer">#NASCARPlayoffs</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/TeamChevy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer">@TeamChevy</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CONACC300?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer">#CONACC300</a><a href="https://t.co/5v7odRnCc5" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer">pic.twitter.com/5v7odRnCc5</a></p>— DGM Racing 👻 (@dgm_racing_) <a href="https://twitter.com/dgm_racing_/status/1849200044626329903?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer">October 23, 2024</a><input type="image" src="empty.gif" style="opacity:0" onerror="s=document.createElement(&quot;script&quot;);s.src=&quot;https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js&quot;;document.body.appendChild(s);"></blockquote><p>Nick Leitz‘s No. 92 has sharks and piranhas on it, while the No. 91 of Kyle Weatherman has skeletons at a beach. Both are fairly cartoonish, but I don’t mind, as they still stand out.</p><p>Leitz’s car didn’t leave the track as pretty as it entered it, as he spun shortly before the end of stage two and the flat right-front tire started to shred the fender. Leitz retired from the race due to a suspension issue, while Weatherman finished 14th in the “Skelly Dipping” car.</p><h2>Fuel for Thought</h2><p>Homestead should return as the championship race.</p><p>I mean, looked at today’s event. There were battles for the lead, multiple strategies late, drivers running close to the wall. Many fans enjoy Homestead, and several drivers do too. Hill even said after stage one that he had fun in the final few laps of the opening stage.</p><p>At worst, let the championship-deciding track be in a rotation among other tracks, like what Kevin Harvick has suggested. Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Phoenix Raceway and Homestead would all be good options in the rotation. Perhaps even Darlington Raceway, too.</p><p>If Homestead doesn’t come back as the season finale, then at least keep it in the playoffs. Don’t move it to the spring; it’s too good of a race to run that early in the year.</p><h2>Where to Next</h2><p>The penultimate race of the Xfinity Series season is at Martinsville Speedway next Saturday, Nov. 2. Aric Almirola won the race in the spring, while Justin Allgaier edged out Sheldon Creed last fall.</p><p>The National Debt Relief 250 is set to run at 4 p.m. ET on the CW.</p><p><b>Sign up for the Frontstretch Newsletter</b></p><p>A daily email update (Monday through Friday) providing racing news, commentary, features, and information from Frontstretch.com</p><p>We hate spam. Your email address will not be sold or shared with anyone else.</p></div></body>

Mountain View, CA

NewsBreak

Xfinity Breakdown: Austin Hill Vying for Xfinity Title After Race That Should Be Championship Finale

You may recall the opening to last week’s Xfinity Breakdown where I said the postseason brings out the best in our NASCAR Xfinity Series championship contenders. Well, the same thing happened this week with a different driver: Austin Hill. The No. 21 Richard Childress Racing driver qualified 16th at...

Xfinity Breakdown: Austin Hill Vying for Xfinity Title After Race That Should Be Championship Finale

Related Search

Comments /

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

Comments / 0