News

Hill Battles Back from a Flat Tire to Earn 11th Place Finish

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Overton’s 150

Pocono Raceway

July 29, 2017

Race Highlights:

• The Overton’s 150 marked the 12th race of the 2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck season and seventh race for Austin Hill.
• Hill advanced into the final round of qualifying starting the race 10th.
• This was Hill’s second start at the Long Pond, Penn. facility.
• Christopher Bell earned his fourth victory of 2017, followed by Ben Rhodes, Ryan Truex, John Hunter Nemechek and Johnny Sauter.
• Hill’s next scheduled event is at Bristol Motor Speedway on Wednesday, August 16th. The race will broadcast live on FoxSports1.

Hill Battles Back from a Flat Tire to Earn 11th Place Finish

Austin Hill and the No. 02 Whitetail Heaven Outfitters Ford F150 team entered Pocono Raceway with high hopes and strong momentum following a top-10 finish at Kentucky Speedway earlier in the month. Using Friday’s two practice sessions, the crew, led by veteran crew chief Bruce Cook, worked on the handling of the truck, through Pocono’s unique three turns. As final practice was getting underway, a torrential downpour forced NASCAR officials to cancel the session. Hill would go into qualifying Saturday morning, where he advanced to the final round, before putting up the 10th fastest time. Starting the 60-lap battle Saturday afternoon, Hill spent most of his time in and around the top-10, while fighting an ever tightening race truck. Using the caution at the end of Stage 1 to their advantage the team pitted for four tires, fuel and a round of trackbar and air pressure adjustments. Hill would restart the race 11th and begin battling his way towards the front. Working his way as high as fifth place, Hill reported a right front tire going flat and was forced to pit road on lap-27 for right side tires. Showing his tenacity to never quit, Hill continued to battle through the through the remaining laps, to bring home the No. 02 Whitetail Heaven Outfitters Ford F150 in the 11th position.

                        Start – 10                    Finish – 11                  Laps Led – 0

AUSTIN HILL QUOTE:

“The crew did a great job all weekend preparing our Whitetail Heaven Outfitters Ford F150. We had decent speed from the start and they kept tinkering with the front end right up until qualifying. The adjustments showed well as we made it to the final round and started 10th. During the race we fought tight, especially in traffic, and if it wasn’t for the right front tire going flat, I believe we could have been up there in the mix of things. I can’t thank my Young’s Motorsports guys enough for their effort as well as Whitetail Heaven Outfitters for all of their support. I look forward to getting after it again at Bristol next month.”

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About Austin Hill

Austin Hill, a Winston, Ga. native, is driven to become the next big name in NASCAR. The 23-year-old is driving a partial schedule in the 2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, in a newly formed partnership with Young’s Motorsports, in the No. 02 Ford F-150. Hill successfully graduated, after being a two-year member of NASCAR Next, a program designed to cultivate and promote the sports’ next generation of superstars. Hill started his racing career at the age of six in Quarter Midgets and won the 2002 Quarter Midget championship at his home track in Cumming, G.A. before moving on to excel in the Bandolero, Legends Series and Pro Late Model Series. While in the NASCAR Next program, Hill secured five wins and one pole award in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, along with 13 top-five, 24 top-10 finishes. Hill currently resides in Salisbury, N.C. with his wife, Ashlyn, and daughter, Lynnlee.