Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill has proven that he is the one to beat, having already snagged three wins in the first five races of the season. The last time a driver won three of the first five races in the NASCAR Xfinity Series was in 2016 with Kyle Busch.
The Winston, Georgia native, Hill, raced his way to the checkered flag from the third starting position. He led three times for a race-high 103 of 163 laps. This was his second win at Atlanta Motor Speedway, his home track.
Hill will now prepare for the next race on the schedule – Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas. Although he has yet to post a win on a road course in the Xfinity Series, this very well could be the weekend he accomplishes the feat. Last season on the Texas 3.41-mile road course, Hill posted a runner-up finish.
He also did well on other road courses last season, posting a third-place in Portland, a fourth-place finish at Road America, and a ninth-place finish at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course.
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Next Race: Pit Boss 250 presented by USA Today
The Place: Circuit of The Americas
The Date: Saturday, March 25
The Time: 5 p.m. ET
The Purse: $1,695,270
TV: FS1, 4 p.m. ET
Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 156.86 miles (46 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 14),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 30), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 46)
Getting rowdy in Texas: COTA up next
The NASCAR Xfinity Series just wrapped up its fifth race of the season last weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway and will now gear up for the first road course on the schedule – the Pit Boss 250 Presented by USA Today at Circuit of The Americas on Saturday, March 25 at 5 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio – the second race of a doubleheader Saturday at COTA joining the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race, the XPEL 225, at 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
The Circuit of The Americas road course is a relatively new track on the NASCAR circuit, having only produced two Xfinity Series races. There has been a different winner in Victory Lane in both years – Kyle Busch won the inaugural race in 2021 and A.J. Allmendinger snagged the checkered flag last season.
Busch, who won the 2021 race from the pole position, is not entered in this weekend’s Pit Boss 250 Presented by USA Today, but Allmendinger will be pulling double duty in the No. 10 Chevrolet for Kaulig Racing in hopes of pulling off a back-to-back win at COTA.
The road course ringer, Allmendinger, is not the only NASCAR Cup Series driver pulling double duty this weekend. Aric Almirola (No. 08 SS-Green Light Racing Chevrolet), William Byron (No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet) and Ty Gibbs (No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) will also join in on the fun.
Drivers will hit the track for practice on Friday, March 24 at 6:30 p.m. ET followed by qualifying at 7 p.m. streamed on FS1.
Circuit of The Americas bringing in drivers from all over the Americas
The NASCAR Xfinity Series will spice things up this weekend at COTA as two drivers from South America will attempt to qualify for the Pit Boss 250 Presented by USA Today.
One of the drivers is someone race fans have seen in a Xfinity Series race before – Miguel Paludo. The Brazilian driver has eight NASCAR Xfinity Series starts under his belt. He has made two starts at the Austin, Texas road course, placing a top-10 finish last year in the No. 88 Chevrolet with JR Motorsports.
Also joining NASCAR this weekend will be Baltazar Leguizamón, who will be racing in hopes of becoming the first Argentinian driver to post a start in a NASCAR national series race.
Leguizamón will make his qualifying attempt behind the wheel of the No. 74 Chevrolet for CHK Racing.
Although the 22-year-old has yet to run some laps in a Xfinity Series car, he has plenty of experience on road courses. He won the 2018 Atlantic Championship Series title and earned a runner-up championship finish in the inaugural season of F3 Americas.
“I am really proud to be the first Argentinean with a NASCAR national series license. It’s been a long way on my career living my dream in international motorsports. All the hard work is paying off right now, said Leguizamón. “This is huge for us, for my country, and for South America. It’s my childhood dream beginning to come true.”
Dash 4 Cash program returns in 2023 starting at COTA
The NASCAR Xfinity Series Dash 4 Cash program was designed to add elements of unpredictability and drama leading up to and during four designated races, increase on-track competition, engage fans and reward / recognize NASCAR Xfinity Series regular competitors.
Eligible Xfinity Series regulars who are the top finishers at those designated events will pocket cash bonuses. This weekend’s race at COTA will act as a qualifying race to determine the four eligible drivers with the first crack at the extra money.
The four events in the 2023 Dash 4 Cash initiative are:
- Richmond Raceway (April 1)
- Martinsville Speedway (April 15)
- Talladega Superspeedway (April 22)
- Dover Motor Speedway (April 29)
The top four eligible Xfinity Series regulars from each event will form the field for the next race’s bonus.
Eligibility requirements for this year will be similar to the 2022 structure. Drivers who have not declared to collect Xfinity Series points may not participate in the series’ Playoffs, elimination events, or Dash 4 Cash races. That list of restricted events also includes the Chicago Street Race on July 1.
Top performers on road courses in the Xfinity Series
The first NASCAR Xfinity Series race on a road course took place in 1986 at Road Atlanta and the event was won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip – the only road course on the schedule that season. Fast forward to this season, and the Xfinity Series will take on seven road courses – this weekend’s Circuit of The Americas, Portland International Raceway (June 3) Sonoma Raceway (June 10), Road America (July 29), Indianapolis Road Course (Aug. 12), Watkins Glen International (Aug. 19) and Charlotte Roval (Oct. 7). But before the competitors take to the track this weekend, here is a look at some of the top road course performers in the series.
In total, the NASCAR Xfinity Series has run 74 road course races all-time (1982-Present) producing 37 different winners, led by Kaulig Racing’s A.J. Allmendinger with 10 road course wins. Four road course winners in the Xfinity Series are active this weekend – A.J. Allmendinger (10 wins), Justin Allgaier (three wins), Ty Gibbs (three wins) and Jeremy Clements (one win).
Last season, a total of eight different drivers had an average finish of 15th or better in the six Xfinity Series road course races – A.J. Allmendinger (2.0), Noah Gragson (6.3), Ty Gibbs (10.0), Josh Berry (10.8), Austin Hill (12.8), Brandon Jones (13.3), Ryan Sieg (14.3) and Sam Mayer (14.5).
NASCAR Xfinity Series, Etc.
Derek Kraus to make Xfinity Series debut – A familiar face at NASCAR, Derek Kraus, will be joining Kaulig Racing next weekend at Richmond Raceway behind the wheel of the No. 10 Chevrolet to make his Xfinity Series debut.
Kraus has been racing in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series since 2018 and has run three full-time seasons (2020-2022). In his 74 starts, he’s posted four top fives, 26 top 10s and has a best standings finish of 11th (2020, 2022).
Hocevar is taking his signature ‘fancy hats’ to the Xfinity Series – Rising NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series star Carson Hocevar will be seen this weekend attempting to compete in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for the first time in his career. The Portage, Michigan native, who has been seen around the tracks wearing his signature hats has been tapped to pilot the No. 07 SS-Greenlight Racing Chevrolet with crew chief Mike Hillman in the Xfinity Series race.
