Race Lineup

The official 2023 Raptor King of Tough 250 NASCAR XFINITY Series race lineup, determined by qualifying results, shows the starting positions of all drivers at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Raptor King of Tough 250

Saturday, March 18th, 2023

Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton, GA

  • 8 Ford
  • 6 Toyota
  • 24 Chevrolet

  • Atlanta Motor Speedway
  • Raptor King of Tough 250
  • Pole Winner: Sammy Smith
  • Age: 18
  • Team: No. 18 - Pilot Flying J Toyota
  • Owner: Joe Gibbs Racing
  • Crew Chief: Jeff Meendering
  • Start positions set by NASCAR's Performance Metrics Qualifying (PMQ).
  • Sammy Smith won the Pole Award for the Raptor King of Tough 250 by having the highest total PMQ.
  • PMQ is a total number calculated on four performance metrics from the previous race:
  • 15% of the driver's fastest lap time position.
  • 25% of the driver's final race finish position.
  • 25% of the owner's final race position.
  • 35% of the Owner Points position.

  • Saturday, March 18th, 2023
  • NASCAR Wire Service - Reid Spencer
Austin Hill wins at Atlanta for third NASCAR Xfinity victory of 2023

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.

  • Drivers Entered: 38
  • Laps Scheduled: 163
  • Margin of Victory: 0.085 Seconds
  • Time of Race: 2 Hours 44 Minutes 49 Seconds
  • Average Speed: 91.382
  • Cautions: 12 for 68 laps
  • Lead Changes: 13
  • Green Flag Passes: 2,205 (23.2 passes per green flag lap)

  • Atlanta Motor Speedway
  • RAPTOR King of Tough 250
  • Race Winner: Austin Hill
  • Age: 28
  • Team : No. 21 - Bennett Transportation Chevrolet
  • Owner: Richard Childress
  • Crew Chief: Andy Street
  • Austin Hill won the RAPTOR King of Tough 250, his fifth victory in 53 Xfinity Series races.
  • This is his third victory and fifth top-10 finish in 2023.
  • This is his second victory and third top-10 finish in three races at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
  • Daniel Hemric (second) posted his fifth top-10 finish in eight races at Atlanta Motor Speedway. It is his third top-10 finish in 2023.
  • Ryan Truex (third) posted his third top-10 finish in four races at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
  • Sammy Smith (17th) was the highest finishing rookie.
  • Austin Hill leads the point standings by 46 points over John Hunter Nemechek.
Cole Custer celebrates in victory lane
Avondale, Arizona - November 4, 2023 : Cole Custer, driver of the #00 Haas Automation Ford, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway.
Jared C TiltonGetty Images
Race lineup for the Raptor King of Tough 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway
ST # DRIVER MAKE SPD TIME BHND SPONSOR TEAM CREW CHIEF
1 18 Sammy Smith Toyota 0.000 0.000 0.000 Pilot Flying J Joe Gibbs Racing Jeff Meendering
2 20 John Hunter Nemechek Toyota 0.000 0.000 0.000 Mobil 1 Joe Gibbs Racing Ben Beshore
3 21 Austin Hill Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Bennett Transportation Richard Childress Racing Andy Street
4 19 Ryan Truex Toyota 0.000 0.000 0.000 Toyota Genuine Parts Joe Gibbs Racing Jason Ratcliff
5 98 Riley Herbst Ford 0.000 0.000 0.000 Monster Energy Stewart-haas Racing Richard Boswell
6 16 Chandler Smith Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Quick Tie Products, Inc. Kaulig Racing Bruce Schlicker
7 2 Sheldon Creed Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Whelen Richard Childress Racing Jeff Stankiewicz
8 00 Cole Custer Ford 0.000 0.000 0.000 Haas Automation Stewart-haas Racing Jonathan Toney
9 8 Josh Berry Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Tire Pros Love The Drive Jr Motorsports Taylor Moyer
10 1 Sam Mayer Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Accelerate Pros Talent Jr Motorsports Mardy Lindley
11 11 Daniel Hemric Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Chevrolet Accessories Kaulig Racing Jason Trinchere
12 25 Brett Moffitt Ford 0.000 0.000 0.000 AM Technical Solutions Am Racing Joe Williams
13 48 Parker Kligerman Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Big Machine Racing Spiked Big Machine Racing Patrick Donahue
14 39 Ryan Sieg Ford 0.000 0.000 0.000 CMRroofing.com Rss Racing Mike Scearce
15 78 Anthony Alfredo Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 JAG METALS LLC Bj Mcleod Motorsports Pat Tryson
16 27 Jeb Burton Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Rocky Jordan Anderson Racing Shane Whitbeck
17 31 Parker Retzlaff Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 FUNKAWAY Jordan Anderson Racing Joshua Graham
18 10 Justin Haley Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Kaulig Racing Alex Yontz
19 7 Justin Allgaier Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 RaptorTough.com Jr Motorsports Jim Pohlman
20 02 Kyle Weatherman Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 The King Of Lemonade Our Motorsports Teddy Brown
21 9 Brandon Jones Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Menards/Jeld-Wen Windows Jr Motorsports Jason Burdett
22 92 Josh Williams Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Coolray/Alloy Employer Dgm Racing Bryan Berry
23 51 Jeremy Clements Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 One Stop / All South Electric Jeremy Clements Racing Mark Setzer
24 43 Ryan Ellis Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Pella Windows & Doors Alpha Prime Racing Michael Brandt
25 24 Connor Mosack Toyota 0.000 0.000 0.000 Toyota Racing Development Sam Hunt Racing Kris Bowen
26 28 Kyle Sieg Ford 0.000 0.000 0.000 Cedar Ridge Landscaping Rss Racing Brad Parrott
27 38 Joe Graf Jr Ford 0.000 0.000 0.000 Jacob Companies Rss Racing Steve Addington
28 26 Kaz Grala Toyota 0.000 0.000 0.000 CRUSH Lime Margarita Sam Hunt Racing Allen Hart
29 6 Brennan Poole Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Walton Press Inc Jd Motorsports Kase Kallenbach
30 45 Sage Karam Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Til Valhalla Project Alpha Prime Racing Frank Kerr
31 44 Jeffrey Earnhardt Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Advanced Material Handling Alpha Prime Racing Michael Groves
32 53 Patrick Emerling Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Sci Aps Emerling Gase Motorsports Rick Bourgeois
33 35 Joey Gase Toyota 0.000 0.000 0.000 Donate Life GA Emerling Gase Motorsports Paul Clapprood
34 Garrett Smithley 0.000 0.000 0.000
35 08 Gray Gaulding Ford 0.000 0.000 0.000 Panini Ss-green Light Racing Jason Miller
36 07 Blaine Perkins Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 To the Point NC Ss-green Light Racing Mark Hillman
37 91 Chad Chastain Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Protect Your Melon Dgm Racing Mario Gosselin
38 Caesar Bacarella 0.000 0.000 0.000