The official 2023 Raptor King of Tough 250 NASCAR XFINITY Series entry list features top NASCAR drivers set to compete at Atlanta Motor Speedway, highlighting the full lineup of race participants and teams.
Saturday, March 18th, 2023
Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton, GA
In a race that started in chaos and ended in bedlam on the last lap, Austin Hill won his third NASCAR Xfinity Series race of the season, beating Daniel Hemric to the checkered flag in Saturday's RAPTOR King of the Tough 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
With his family in attendance, the Winston, Ga., native, led three times for a race-high 103 laps and dominated an event that featured a record 12 cautions for 68 laps.
NASCAR called the final yellow on the last lap, after a multicar wreck erupted as Hill and Hemric approached the finish line.
Parker Kligerman made a race of it until the cars entered the frontstretch dogleg on the last lap. At the end of a two-lap dash to the finish, Kligerman's Chevrolet turned sideways across the front bumper of Hemric's car and hit the right rear of Hill's No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevy.
Hill maintained control and took the checkered flag with Hemric trailing by .085 seconds. Kligerman slid backwards across the finish line in fourth, as Ryan Truex edged him for the third spot by .001 seconds.
"They knew we were here," Kligerman radioed to his Big Machine Racing team.
The defending race winner, Hill came to Atlanta with victories at Daytona and Las Vegas and, understandably, the Xfinity Series lead. The win was Hill's second at Atlanta and the fifth of his career.
The only thing that shook Hill all night was the contact with the right rear of his car in the final 100 yards.
"I have no idea how I saved it coming to the line," Hill said, after his young daughter ran out to greet him at the finish line. "What a start to the season. Everybody at Richard Childress Racing, ECR engines—we've just had such a fast start with Chevrolet. This has been special, for sure."
Riley Herbst finished fifth, followed by Brett Moffitt, Josh Berry, John Hunter Nemechek, Sam Mayer and Justin Haley.
Hill won the first stage, and Kligerman gave Big Machine its first-ever stage victory in the second.
In the first two stages combined, the race featured more caution laps than green-flag laps—49 to 31, to be exact—the result of nine yellow flags.
Josh Williams' No. 92 Chevrolet sustained damage in a Lap 27 accident with the No. 02 Chevy of Kyle Weatherman, and when Williams dropped debris on the frontstretch to cause the fourth caution moments after the subsequent Lap 32 restart, NASCAR parked him under the Damaged Vehicle Policy.
Instead of driving his car to the garage, however, a frustrated Williams parked it at the start/finish line. NASCAR ordered Williams to the hauler for a discussion of the incident, after he was released from the infield care center.
ENTRY | # | DRIVER | HOMETOWN | DOB | AGE | MAKE | SPONSOR | TEAM | CREW CHIEF |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 66 | Timmy Hill | Port Tobacco, MD | Feb 25, 1993 | 30 | Ford | Prime Bites Protein Brownie | Motorsports Business Management | Jason Houghtaling |
2 | 19 | Ryan Truex | Mayetta, NJ | Mar 18, 1992 | 31 | Toyota | Toyota Genuine Parts | Joe Gibbs Racing | Jason Ratcliff |
3 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | Riverton, IL | Jun 6, 1986 | 36 | Chevrolet | RaptorTough.com | JR Motorsports | Jim Pohlman |
4 | 48 | Parker Kligerman | Westport, CT | Aug 8, 1990 | 32 | Chevrolet | Big Machine Racing Spiked | Big Machine Racing | Patrick Donahue |
5 | 25 | Brett Moffitt | Grimes, IA | Aug 7, 1992 | 30 | Ford | AM Technical Solutions | AM Racing | Joe Williams |
6 | 35 | Joey Gase | Cedar Rapids, IA | Feb 8, 1993 | 30 | Toyota | Donate Life GA | Emerling Gase Motorsports | Paul Clapprood |
7 | 27 | Jeb Burton | Halifax, VA | Aug 6, 1992 | 30 | Chevrolet | Rocky | Jordan Anderson Racing | Shane Whitbeck |
8 | 44 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Mooresville, NC | Jun 22, 1989 | 33 | Chevrolet | Advanced Material Handling | Alpha Prime Racing | Michael Groves |
9 | 43 | Ryan Ellis | Torrence, CA | Nov 29, 1989 | 33 | Chevrolet | Pella Windows & Doors | Alpha Prime Racing | Michael Brandt |
10 | 08 | Gray Gaulding | Colonial Heights, VA | Feb 10, 1998 | 25 | Ford | Panini | SS-Green Light Racing | Jason Miller |
11 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | Tucker, GA | Jun 20, 1987 | 35 | Ford | CMRroofing.com | RSS Racing | Mike Scearce |
12 | 02 | Kyle Weatherman | Wentzville, MO | Aug 28, 1997 | 25 | Chevrolet | The King Of Lemonade | Our Motorsports | Teddy Brown |
13 | 11 | Daniel Hemric | Kannapolis, NC | Jan 27, 1991 | 32 | Chevrolet | Chevrolet Accessories | Kaulig Racing | Jason Trinchere |
14 | 6 | Brennan Poole | Sacramento, CA | Apr 11, 1991 | 31 | Chevrolet | Walton Press Inc | JD Motorsports | Kase Kallenbach |
15 | 00 | Cole Custer | Ladera Ranch, CA | Jan 23, 1998 | 25 | Ford | Haas Automation | Stewart-Haas Racing | Jonathan Toney |
16 | 4 | Bayley Currey | Driftwood, TX | Oct 29, 1996 | 26 | Chevrolet | Trophy Tractor | JD Motorsports | Wayne Carroll Jr |
17 | 10 | Justin Haley | Winamac, IN | Apr 28, 1999 | 23 | Chevrolet | LeafFilter Gutter Protection | Kaulig Racing | Alex Yontz |
18 | 20 | John Hunter Nemechek | Mooresville, NC | Jun 11, 1997 | 25 | Toyota | Mobil 1 | Joe Gibbs Racing | Ben Beshore |
19 | 26 | Kaz Grala | Boston, MA | Dec 29, 1998 | 24 | Toyota | CRUSH Lime Margarita | Sam Hunt Racing | Allen Hart |
20 | 21 | Austin Hill | Winston, GA | Apr 21, 1994 | 28 | Chevrolet | Bennett Transportation | Richard Childress Racing | Andy Street |
21 | 9 | Brandon Jones | Atlanta, GA | Feb 18, 1997 | 26 | Chevrolet | Menards/Jeld-Wen Windows | JR Motorsports | Jason Burdett |
22 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Spartanburg, SC | Jan 16, 1985 | 38 | Chevrolet | One Stop / All South Electric | Jeremy Clements Racing | Mark Setzer |
23 | 38 | Joe Graf Jr | Mahwah, NJ | Jul 12, 1998 | 24 | Ford | Jacob Companies | RSS Racing | Steve Addington |
24 | 92 | Josh Williams | Port Charlotte, FL | Aug 3, 1993 | 29 | Chevrolet | Coolray/Alloy Employer | DGM Racing | Bryan Berry |
25 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Las Vegas, NV | Feb 24, 1999 | 24 | Ford | Monster Energy | Stewart-Haas Racing | Richard Boswell |
26 | 78 | Anthony Alfredo | Ridgefield, CT | Mar 1, 1999 | 24 | Chevrolet | JAG METALS LLC | BJ McLeod Motorsports | Pat Tryson |
27 | 53 | Patrick Emerling | Orchard Park, NY | Sep 19, 1992 | 30 | Chevrolet | Sci Aps | Emerling Gase Motorsports | Rick Bourgeois |
28 | 2 | Sheldon Creed | Alpine, CA | Sep 30, 1997 | 25 | Chevrolet | Whelen | Richard Childress Racing | Jeff Stankiewicz |
29 | 8 | Josh Berry | Hendersonville, TN | Oct 22, 1990 | 32 | Chevrolet | Tire Pros Love The Drive | JR Motorsports | Taylor Moyer |
30 | 07 | Blaine Perkins | Bakersfield, CA | Feb 28, 2000 | 23 | Chevrolet | To the Point NC | SS-Green Light Racing | Mark Hillman |
31 | 28 | Kyle Sieg | Tucker, GA | Apr 16, 2001 | 21 | Ford | Cedar Ridge Landscaping | RSS Racing | Brad Parrott |
32 | 1 | Sam Mayer | Franklin, WI | Jun 26, 2003 | 19 | Chevrolet | Accelerate Pros Talent | JR Motorsports | Mardy Lindley |
33 | 45 | Sage Karam | Nazareth, PA | Mar 5, 1995 | 28 | Chevrolet | Til Valhalla Project | Alpha Prime Racing | Frank Kerr |
34 | 16 | Chandler Smith | Talking Rock, GA | Jun 26, 2002 | 20 | Chevrolet | Quick Tie Products, Inc. | Kaulig Racing | Bruce Schlicker |
35 | 91 | Chad Chastain | Alva, FL | Oct 31, 1998 | 24 | Chevrolet | Protect Your Melon | DGM Racing | Mario Gosselin |
36 | 31 | Parker Retzlaff | Rhinelander, WI | May 21, 2003 | 19 | Chevrolet | FUNKAWAY | Jordan Anderson Racing | Joshua Graham |
37 | 24 | Connor Mosack | Charlotte, NC | Jan 20, 1999 | 24 | Toyota | Toyota Racing Development | Sam Hunt Racing | Kris Bowen |
38 | 18 | Sammy Smith | Johnston, IA | Jun 4, 2004 | 18 | Toyota | Pilot Flying J | Joe Gibbs Racing | Jeff Meendering |