April 26, 2025 | By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service

Using time stamped photos, Austin Hill declared NASCAR Xfinity Series winner at Talladega

TALLADEGA, Ala. — Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill prevailed in a three-wide photo finish in the Ag-Pro 300 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Talladega Superspeedway Saturday afternoon — edging ahead of Jeb Burton and his RCR teammate Jesse Love at the time the field was frozen with an electronic timestamp approaching the checkered flag.

The caution flag and checkered flag flew simultaneously after Love’s No. 2 Chevrolet made contact with the rear of then-race leader, JR Motorsports rookie Connor Zilisch’s No. 88 Chevy just after the white flag came out signaling one lap to go. Zilisch’s car spun down into the track apron, hitting the wall hard, leaving Hill, Burton and Love to sort out the trophy.

It marks the ninth superspeedway victory for Hill, making the 30-year-old Georgia-native the Xfinity Series all-time winningest driver on drafting-style tracks such as Talladega, Daytona and Atlanta — breaking a tie with a pair of Hall of Famers, Tony Stewart and the late Dale Earnhardt.

“Man, we really had to work for that one,” said Hill, who now has a series-best three victories this year and 13 in his career. “It just seemed like our car was really good. Everyone at RCR and RCR engines are bad to the bone, like always. We had to work. I thought the 2 (Love) was really good and when we got the push from the 2 going into [turn] one, he got inside of me and I thought that was a bad mistake and I should have covered it. So I thought we were done. But I just locked in and kept pushing the heck out of the 2-car.

“I knew it was either me or the 27 [Burton],” he said of the photo finish. “Man, to win them – any way you win them is always great – and finally to conquer Talladega, that’s something I’ve really wanted to do for a long time.

“We’ve won at all these other superspeedways and to finally get it done at all the different superspeedways we go to, it just shows the 21 team can win at any of them and we’re really good at this style of racing.”

It was an especially tough outcome for Burton, who has two previous wins in this 2.66-mile high-banked Talladega track — NASCAR’s largest — and still felt after the race that his No. 27 Jordan Anderson Racing Chevrolet was leading the field at the time of caution — although ultimately video did confirm Hill’s win.

“I felt like we did everything we could today, so just frustrated,” said an emotional Burton, “Every angle I see, we won the race.

“Just appreciate my guys,” he continued. “We do a lot with a little team. We don’t have a lot of chances to win, you know. That’s what’s frustrating.”

The defending race winner Love, who was scored third, led a race-best 50 of the 113 laps on the day, but conceded the last lap was a typical superspeedway all-out rush to the checkered flag.

“I’m pretty sure I wrecked my best friend, I’m going to owe him an apology,” Love told the Motor Racing Network of contact with Zilisch, who was checked out in the infield care center and released post-race.

“I just got really good pushes there at the end and I was able to lift enough off of [turn] two to get really good pushes. I kind of thought we’d made our bed and were not in position to win, but I was able to get Austin [Hill] connected to me and he was able to give me a push down the backstretch and get rolling again.”

Reigning Xfinity Series champion, JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier, finished fourth, followed by Viking Motorsports’ Matt DiBenedetto. Anthony Alfredo, Blaine Perkins, Harrison Burton, Sheldon Creed and rookie Daniel Dye rounded out the top 10. Zilisch, who led nine laps, was credited with 27th place.

Of note, Katherine Legge became the fourth woman in history to lead an Xfinity Series race — and the second at Talladega. The sports car and IndyCar veteran led Lap 75 in the No. 32 Jordan Anderson Racing Chevrolet, equaling Danica Patrick’s one-lap out front at Talladega in 2012.

Legge looked to be turning in a solid Talladega debut — her second Xfinity Series start this season — and was running 15th on Lap 100 when she was collected in an accident triggered by NASCAR veteran Aric Almirola, who later apologized, saying miscommunication with his spotter led to the high-speed miscue.

Allgaier’s runner-up showing was enough for him to maintain a 79-point advantage over Hill atop the standings.

The Xfinity Series moves to the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway for next Saturday’s Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 (2 p.m. ET, The CW, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Haas Factory Team driver Sam Mayer is the defending race winner.

NOTE: Post-race inspection in the Xfinity Series garage concluded without issue, confirming Hill as the race winner.


NASCAR Xfinity Series Race Number 11
Race Results for the Ag-Pro 300 - Saturday, April 26, 2025
Talladega Superspeedway - Talladega, AL - 2.66 - Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 113 Laps - 300.58 Miles

Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Saturday, 4/26/2025 @ 06:45 PM Eastern

Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Stage 1 Pos Stage 2 Pos Pts Status Tms Laps Playoff Pts
1 2 21 Austin Hill Bennett Transportation Chevrolet 113 2 1 59 Running 2 19 6
2 5 27 Jeb Burton Golden Corral Chevrolet 113 10 7 40 Running 2 7
3 1 2 Jesse Love WAT Chevrolet 113 1 2 53 Running 6 50 1
4 3 7 Justin Allgaier Hellmann's Chevrolet 113 9 8 38 Running 1 1
5 12 99 Matt DiBenedetto Viking Motorsports Chevrolet 113   32 Running  
6 19 42 Anthony Alfredo Dude Wipes Chevrolet 113   31 Running 1 1
7 31 31 Blaine Perkins Bommarito Automotive Group Chevrolet 113   30 Running  
8 29 25 Harrison Burton DEX Imaging Ford 113 8 10 33 Running  
9 11 00 Sheldon Creed Ollie's Ford 113 3  36 Running 1 9
10 8 10 Daniel Dye # Black Widow Trucks Chevrolet 113   27 Running  
11 6 54 Taylor Gray # Operation 300 Toyota 113   26 Running  
12 28 07 Patrick Emerling MAD Heavy Haul Chevrolet 113   25 Running 1 1
13 21 70 Leland Honeyman Mezrano Alabama Injury Lawyers Chevrolet 113   24 Running  
14 34 41 Sam Mayer Audibel Ford 113   23 Running  
15 23 48 Nick Sanchez # Pickers Vodka Chevrolet 113 7 4 33 Running 1 1
16 9 71 Ryan Ellis Classic Collision Chevrolet 113   21 Running  
17 20 1 Carson Kvapil # First Bank of Alabama Chevrolet 113   20 Running  
18 22 26 Dean Thompson # Thompson Pipe Group Toyota 113   19 Running  
19 37 44 Brennan Poole Clark's/CW & Sons Chevrolet 113   18 Running  
20 36 91 Jesse Iwuji Chevrolet Accessories Chevrolet 113   17 Running  
21 4 53 Joey Gase Hoover AV Chevrolet 113   16 Running  
22 32 66 Mason Maggio Denssi Energy Pouches Chevrolet 113   15 Running  
23 26 28 Kyle Sieg RSS Racing Ford 113   14 Running  
24 24 5 Kris Wright First National Bank Corp Chevrolet 113   13 Running  
25 15 16 Christian Eckes # LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet 113 4  19 Running 2 2
26 10 51 Jeremy Clements One Stop/All South Electric Chevrolet 113   12 Running 1 1
27 13 88 Connor Zilisch # WeatherTech Chevrolet 112  6 15 Accident 3 9
28 16 20 Brandon Jones Menards/Lyons Toyota 112   9 Running 3 8
29 7 11 Josh Williams Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet 111 6  13 Running  
30 38 45 Caesar Bacarella Simcraft Chevrolet 108   7 Running  
31 14 8 Sammy Smith Pilot Chevrolet 107  5 12 Running 1 1
32 30 24 Jeffrey Earnhardt ForeverLawn Toyota 102   5 Accident  
33 17 19 Aric Almirola Young Life Toyota 100  3 12 Accident  
34 27 32 Katherine Legge(i) e.l.f. Cosmetics Chevrolet 100   0 Accident 1 1
35 25 35 Greg Van Alst CB Fabricating Chevrolet 80   2 Accident 1 2
36 35 39 Ryan Sieg Sci Aps Ford 78 5  7 Accident  
37 18 18 William Sawalich # Soundgear Toyota 75  9 3 Engine  
38 33 4 Parker Retzlaff KeenParts.com Chevrolet 52   1 Accident  

Fastest Lap Bonus:  # lap 33 / 49.64
51                                                                   

Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 10 Mins, 31 Secs. Average Speed: 138.18 MPH Margin of Victory: Under Caution

Stage 1 Top 10: 2, 21, 00, 16, 39, 11, 48, 25, 7, 27
Stage 2 Top 10: 21, 2, 19, 48, 8, 88, 27, 7, 18, 25

Race Comments: Austin Hill won the Ag-Pro 300 at Talladega Superspeedway, his 13th victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Prior to the start of the race, the following vehicle(s) dropped to the rear of the field under penalty for the reason(s) indicated: No. 42, 44, 45 (Unapproved Adjustments).

Failed to Qualify: (3) 14 Garrett Smithley, 87 Austin Green, 29 Jake Garcia(i).

Caution Flags: 5 for 23 laps; Laps: 27-31 (Stage 1 Conclusion [42]); 52-56 (Stage 2 Conclusion [None]); 80-85 (#35, 8, 39, 4 incident turn 1 [07]); 102-107 (#19, 32, 20, 24 incident backstretch [11]); 113-113 (#2, 88 incident backstretch [None]).

Lead Changes: 26 among 15 drivers; J. Love 1-27; P. Emerling 28; J. Love 29-31; C. Eckes # 32; J. Love 33-34; S. Smith 35; J. Love 36; C. Eckes # 37; J. Burton 38-43; A. Hill 44-52; A. Alfredo 53; J. Love 54-68; B. Jones 69-73; J. Clements 74; K. Legge(i) 75; G. Van Alst 76-77; B. Jones 78; S. Creed 79-87; B. Jones 88-89; J. Love 90-91; C. Zilisch # 92-97; A. Hill 98-107; N. Sanchez # 108; C. Zilisch # 109-110; J. Allgaier 111; C. Zilisch # 112; J. Burton 113.

(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series

Next Race: May 3, 2025 - Texas Motor Speedway

NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications @ P.O. Box 2875, Daytona Beach, FL 32120-2875


NASCAR Xfinity Series Points Report
Talladega Superspeedway
Ag-Pro 300

UNOFFICIAL Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Saturday, 4/26/2025 @ 07:10 PM Eastern UNOFFICIAL

Rank Driver Car Starts GL Points Ldr Nxt Race Wins Stage Wins Playoff Pts
1. Justin Allgaier 7 11 0 449 0 0 2 3 13
2. Austin Hill 21 11 1 370 -79 79 3 5 20
3. Sam Mayer 41 11 -1 347 -102 23 0 1 1
4. Jesse Love 2 11 0 340 -109 7 1 1 6
5. Carson Kvapil # 1 11 0 306 -143 34 0 0 0
6. Connor Zilisch # 88 11 1 299 -150 7 1 2 7
7. Brandon Jones 20 11 -1 293 -156 6 1 0 5
8. Sammy Smith 8 11 0 293 -156 0 1 1 6
9. Jeb Burton 27 11 2 291 -158 2 0 0 0
10. Sheldon Creed 00 11 0 290 -159 1 0 0 0
11. Ryan Sieg 39 11 -2 284 -165 6 0 0 0
12. Harrison Burton 25 11 0 276 -173 8 0 2 2
13. Daniel Dye # 10 11 0 267 -182 9 0 0 0
14. Nick Sanchez # 48 11 3 251 -198 16 0 1 1
15. Taylor Gray # 54 11 -1 249 -200 2 0 0 0
16. Dean Thompson # 26 11 -1 239 -210 10 0 1 1
17. Christian Eckes # 16 11 -1 237 -212 2 0 0 0
18. Brennan Poole 44 11 0 218 -231 19 0 0 0
19. Jeremy Clements 51 11 0 209 -240 9 0 0 0
20. Josh Williams 11 11 0 206 -243 3 0 0 0
21. Aric Almirola 19 5 0 198 -251 8 1 1 0
22. Parker Retzlaff 4 10 0 186 -263 12 0 0 0
23. Anthony Alfredo 42 11 0 186 -263 0 0 0 0
24. Matt DiBenedetto 99 11 0 179 -270 7 0 0 0
25. Blaine Perkins 31 11 3 154 -295 25 0 0 0
26. Kyle Sieg 28 11 0 150 -299 4 0 0 0
27. Ryan Ellis 71 11 0 147 -302 3 0 0 0
28. William Sawalich # 18 11 -3 146 -303 1 0 0 0
29. Kris Wright 5 11 1 106 -343 40 0 0 0
30. Josh Bilicki  7 -1 101 -348 5 0 0 0
31. Garrett Smithley  9 0 93 -356 8 0 0 0
32. Leland Honeyman 70 6 0 89 -360 4 0 0 0
33. Patrick Emerling 07 5 1 83 -366 6 0 0 0
34. Joey Gase 53 6 -1 75 -374 8 0 0 0
35. Justin Bonsignore  4 0 54 -395 21 0 0 0
36. Mason Massey  5 0 45 -404 9 0 0 0
37. Mason Maggio 66 5 9 36 -413 9 0 0 0
38. Greg Van Alst 35 8 0 33 -416 3 0 0 0
39. Nick Leitz  3 -2 32 -417 1 0 0 0
40. Caesar Bacarella 45 2 2 31 -418 1 0 0 0
41. Jordan Anderson  1 -2 30 -419 1 0 0 0
42. Alex Labbe  2 -2 30 -419 0 0 0 0
43. Thomas Annunziata  4 -2 26 -423 4 0 0 0
44. Kasey Kahne  1 -1 23 -426 3 0 0 0
45. Brad Perez  2 -1 23 -426 0 0 0 0
46. Patrick Staropoli  1 -1 21 -428 2 0 0 0
47. Ryan Truex  1 0 20 -429 1 0 0 0
48. Austin Green  3 0 19 -430 1 0 0 0
49. Jesse Iwuji 91 1 -49 17 -432 2 0 0 0
50. Corey Day  1 -1 16 -433 1 0 0 0
51. Cj Mclaughlin  2 -1 16 -433 0 0 0 0
52. Vicente Salas  1 -1 13 -436 3 0 0 0
53. Carson Ware  2 -1 12 -437 1 0 0 0
54. David Starr  1 -1 11 -438 1 0 0 0
55. Myatt Snider  2 -1 11 -438 0 0 0 0
56. Dawson Cram  2 -1 7 -442 4 0 0 0
57. Jeffrey Earnhardt 24 1 -57 5 -444 2 0 0 0
58. Sage Karam  1 -2 5 -444 0 0 0 0
59. Preston Pardus  1 -2 1 -448 4 0 0 0
60. Baltazar Leguizam?n  1 -2 1 -448 0 0 0 0
61. Kyle Larson(i)  2 -2 0 -449 1 1 2 0
62. William Byron(i)  1 -2 0 -449 0 0 1 0
63. Alex Bowman(i)  1 -2 0 -449 0 0 1 0
64. Chase Elliott(i)  1 -2 0 -449 0 0 0 0
65. Ross Chastain(i)  2 -2 0 -449 0 0 0 0
66. Corey Heim(i)  3 -2 0 -449 0 0 0 0
67. Riley Herbst(i)  1 -2 0 -449 0 0 0 0
68. Christopher Bell(i)  1 -2 0 -449 0 0 0 0
69. Katherine Legge(i) 32 2 -2 0 -449 0 0 0 0
70. Carson Hocevar(i)  1 -2 0 -449 0 0 0 0
71. Tyler Tomassi  0 -2 0 -449 0 0 0 0
72. Jj Yeley(i)  0 -2 0 -449 0 0 0 0
73. Jake Garcia  0 -73 0 -449 0 0 0 0

-Ldr/-Nxt = Points behind Leader/Next higher, (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series