Austin Hill makes late pass to claim second victory of the season at the Alsco Uniforms 300
Rookie Chandler Smith led 53 of the final 55 laps at Saturday’s Alsco Uniforms 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but the lap that mattered went to Austin Hill, who collected his second victory in three races this season and his first on a 1.5-mile track.
“We just don’t give up,” Hill said after passing Smith on the penultimate lap to take the checkered flag. “The car wasn’t perfect; there are still things we can work on and get better at. It just all worked out.
“To win two of the first three races of the year, it says a lot. We’re just hungry. It’s our first win outside of a superspeedway. This track has treated me well. When we come back here in the fall, maybe we can go two for two.”
Justin Allgaier finished second, driving through the field after being assessed a pass-through penalty for jumping the restart on Lap 82.
Smith, who earned his first career Xfinity Series pole Friday, led a race-high 118 laps before ultimately falling to third.
“The last 10 laps, it started to get a little snug,” Smith said. We didn’t get any help with lap traffic at all. In the end though, I can’t be too disappointed. We’re really close to say the least.”
Las Vegas native Kyle Busch, who is the only driver scheduled to start all three events this weekend, finished fourth. Josh Berry rounded out the Top 5.
John Hunter Nemechek won the first stage, finishing sixth. Hill took the green and white checkered flag to end the second stage.
The NASCAR triple-header weekend continues Sunday with the Pennzoil 400. Team Penske driver Joey Logano will start on the pole. Green flag is scheduled for 3:30 p.m., with coverage on FOX and the Performance Racing Network.
