Austin Hill Locks Up NASCAR Award After Season Finale

The Xfinity Series season came to a close at Phoenix Raceway on November 5. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Ty Gibbs won the championship while Austin Hill locked up a different award for Richard Childress Racing.

The driver of the No. 21 Chevrolet Camaro ended the season sixth in the championship standings after winning two times and accumulating 2273 points. This was enough to secure Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors over teammate Sheldon Creed, RSS Racing’s Kyle Sieg, and Jesse Iwuji Motorsports driver-owner Jesse Iwuji.

Hill is now the first driver since Austin Dillon in 2012 to win Xfinity Series Rookie of the Year in an RCR Chevrolet. The intriguing part is that Dillon won the Xfinity Series championship one season after locking up Rookie of the Year honors.

Tyler Reddick also won the championship for RCR in 2019, one year after winning Rookie of the Year while driving for JR Motorsports. Now Hill will try to repeat this feat in 2023.

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The Rookie of the Year Battle Ended With the Playoffs

Hill’s season started quickly and put pressure on his fellow contenders. He won the season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway and locked up his spot in the playoffs. He then returned to Victory Lane during the first trip to Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Hill ended his season with 11 top-five finishes and 21 top-10s. He was the only Xfinity Series rookie to win a race, and he was the only one to reach the playoffs. By doing so, he guaranteed that he would close out the year with the most points among the rookie drivers.

Creed was close to making this a battle. He posted four top-fives and 13 top-10s during his rookie campaign. He nearly won races at Darlington Raceway and Martinsville Speedway. The first of these victories would have put him in the playoffs.

Creed was not able to achieve his goal of reaching Victory Lane in 2022, which meant that Hill was able to lock up Sunoco Rookie of the Year before the season even ended.

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Hill’s Focus Remains on Another Prize

While the Rookie of the Year Award adds to Hill’s legacy as a driver, it was not the trophy that he set out to acquire. His focus was on capturing the Xfinity Series championship trophy and bringing it back to Richard Childress Racing.

There are multiple drivers that have won the Xfinity Series championship in an RCR Chevrolet. Tyler Reddick was the last in 2019. The list also includes Austin Dillon (2013), Clint Bowyer (2008), and Kevin Harvick (2001, 2006).

Hill made it clear to reporters after the Xfinity Series cutoff race at Martinsville Speedway that he wasn’t satisfied with simply making the Round of Eight. He explained that it “stings” not making the championship four after getting caught in the middle of the pack throughout the cutoff race.

Hill also stated that he learned a lot in his first full season in the Xfinity Series and that his goal is to get stage wins and stage points early in 2023 so that he can build up his total prior to the playoffs.

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