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.
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.
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 |