Austin Hill might have been the winner of Saturday’s RAPTOR King of Tough 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, but Josh Williams is the talk of the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
In one of the most bizarre events to occur in recent memory, Williams was metaphorically parked on lap 33 by NASCAR after debris from his car—sustained in a crash four laps earlier—fell off, to which he responded literally by parking the car along the start/finish line before getting out and walking away.
Under Section 8.8.9.I of the rulebook, NASCAR is permitted to penalise a driver “if a damaged vehicle elects not to enter pit road on the first opportunity or if a damaged vehicle exits pit road before sufficient repairs had been made and thereafter causes or extends a caution.”
He was eventually ordered to meet with officials and awaits a potential penalty, though various drivers like Denny Hamlin and Chris Buescher have offered to cover any fine for him.
While Williams certainly stole the show, on-track drama expanded to the entire field as twelve cautions were flown, the most for the series at Atlanta. A crash occurred almost immediately when Joey Gase was turned just two laps in after Caesar Bacarella‘s axle broke and spun into him, setting the tone for the rest of the day. Williams was involved in the race’s third accident when Kyle Weatherman spun in front of him and Jeb Burton, causing the latter two to stack up and result in hood damage to Williams which came off while the race was still under yellow.
Frontrunners Justin Allgaier and Chandler Smith were also taken out in crashes, while series newcomer Chad Chastain spun for the first caution of Stage #2. Parker Retzlaff‘s wreck with two laps to go resulted in overtime.
Hill, winner of Stage #1, duelled with Parker Kligerman for the two-lap sprint. Daniel Hemric attempted to close in on the two in the final two corners before turning Kligerman and triggered yet another crash, with the sideways Kligerman hitting Hill but the leader was able to keep the car steady across the finish line.
It is his third win of 2023 in just five races. Hill had won at Atlanta, his home track, in 2022 while the victory adds to an already impressive portfolio of superspeedway(-style) success that includes back-to-back at Daytona.
Race results
| Finish | Start | Number | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Status |
| 1 | 3 | 21 | Austin Hill | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 163 | Running |
| 2 | 11 | 11 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 163 | Running |
| 3 | 4 | 19 | Ryan Truex | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 163 | Running |
| 4 | 13 | 48 | Parker Kligerman | Big Machine Racing Team | Chevrolet | 163 | Running |
| 5 | 5 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 163 | Running |
| 6 | 12 | 25 | Brett Moffitt | AM Racing | Ford | 163 | Running |
| 7 | 9 | 8 | Josh Berry | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 163 | Running |
| 8 | 2 | 20 | John Hunter Nemechek | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 163 | Running |
| 9 | 10 | 1 | Sam Mayer | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 163 | Running |
| 10 | 18 | 10 | Justin Haley* | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 163 | Running |
| 11 | 14 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | 163 | Running |
| 12 | 8 | 00 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 163 | Running |
| 13 | 29 | 6 | Brennan Poole | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 163 | Running |
| 14 | 15 | 78 | Anthony Alfredo | B.J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 163 | Running |
| 15 | 23 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing | Chevrolet | 163 | Running |
| 16 | 16 | 27 | Jeb Burton | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 163 | Running |
| 17 | 1 | 18 | Sammy Smith | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 163 | Running |
| 18 | 32 | 35 | Patrick Emerling | Emerling-Gase Motorsports | Ford | 163 | Running |
| 19 | 21 | 9 | Brandon Jones | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 163 | Running |
| 20 | 35 | 08 | Gray Gaulding | SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | 163 | Running |
| 21 | 7 | 2 | Sheldon Creed | RIchard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 163 | Running |
| 22 | 36 | 07 | Blaine Perkins | SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | 163 | Running |
| 23 | 24 | 43 | Ryan Ellis | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 163 | Running |
| 24 | 37 | 91 | Chad Chastain | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 163 | Running |
| 25 | 27 | 38 | Joe Graf Jr. | RSS Racing | Ford | 163 | Running |
| 26 | 26 | 28 | Kyle Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | 161 | Running |
| 27 | 17 | 31 | Parker Retzlaff | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 154 | Accident |
| 28 | 6 | 16 | Chandler Smith | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 127 | Rear Gear |
| 29 | 19 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 77 | Accident |
| 30 | 25 | 24 | Connor Mosack | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | 69 | Accident |
| 31 | 30 | 45 | Sage Karam | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 43 | Radiator |
| 32 | 22 | 92 | Josh Williams | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 33 | Accident |
| 33 | 20 | 02 | Kyle Weatherman | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 26 | Accident |
| 34 | 31 | 44 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 11 | Accident |
| 35 | 28 | 26 | Kaz Grala | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | 11 | Accident |
| 36 | 34 | 4 | Garrett Smithley | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 11 | Accident |
| 37 | 33 | 53 | Joey Gase | Emerling-Gase Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1 | Accident |
| 38 | 38 | 66 | Caesar Bacarella | MBM Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1 | Accident |
| DNQ | 74 | Dawson Cram | CHK Racing | Chevrolet |
* – Ineligible for points