Austin Hill took a risk by staying out instead of pitting for fuel in the closing laps of Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Pocono Raceway, and a dramatic overtime restart put him out front for the first and only time en route to his fourth win of the year.
Overtime commenced with Hill behind Josh Berry. The former gave a push, but it was what Berry called “a little longer and harder than I wanted into turn one” and sent him careening wide. Hill slipped by and led the rest of the way. The win provides a strong end to Hill‘s Saturday after retiring from the Craftsman Truck Series race earlier in the day due to a late crash.
“We didn’t have the best car all day,” said Hill. “Andy (Petree) and all the guys back at RCR Engines worked really hard. We got the car better. I thought we were maybe a top-five or top-seven car. I didn’t think we had anything for the leader today.
“With fuel saving, we didn’t know if we were going to make it and it was on my mind going into the Tunnel Turn (turn two) that I had to get back to the start/finish line. I had enough fuel to do a burnout so we saved enough.”
The contact dropped Berry back before being clipped into the wall with Ryan Sieg on the final lap to end the race under caution. Relegated to twenty-fourth, the finish ruined an otherwise oustanding day as he claimed the pole, led fifty-one laps, and won two stages.
As is usually the case at Pocono, thanks to its length and tendency to have long green-flag runs, fuel strategy became a prime topic in Stage #3 as teams debated when to pit or if they should stay out and hope for either a caution or that they would have enough to reach the finish. Those in the latter camp like Hill had their request fulfilled when Justin Allgaier spun a slow Joey Gase and received another break two laps later after Connor Mosack crashed, both resulting in yellow flags.
Hill seemed to be the only championship contender whose day did not end in catastrophe. Points leader John Hunter Nemechek and third-placed Cole Custer were colleted in a lap 47 crash that caused the latter to drop a spot in the standings.
Cup Series driver Chase Elliott finished third in his first Xfinity race since 2021, while colleague Daniel Suárez managed a top ten.
Race results
| Finish | Start | Number | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Status |
| 1 | 11 | 21 | Austin Hill | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 92 | Running |
| 2 | 8 | 1 | Sam Mayer | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 92 | Running |
| 3 | 13 | 17 | Chase Elliott* | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 92 | Running |
| 4 | 21 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 92 | Running |
| 5 | 2 | 11 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 92 | Running |
| 6 | 6 | 18 | Sammy Smith | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 92 | Running |
| 7 | 7 | 9 | Brandon Jones | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 92 | Running |
| 8 | 18 | 25 | Brett Moffitt | AM Racing | Ford | 92 | Running |
| 9 | 22 | 48 | Parker Kligerman | Big Machine Racing Team | Chevrolet | 92 | Running |
| 10 | 23 | 10 | Daniel Suárez* | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 92 | Running |
| 11 | 3 | 2 | Sheldon Creed | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 92 | Running |
| 12 | 12 | 27 | Jeb Burton | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 92 | Running |
| 13 | 26 | 78 | Anthony Alfredo | B.J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 92 | Running |
| 14 | 25 | 3 | Ty Dillon* | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 92 | Running |
| 15 | 14 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing | Chevrolet | 92 | Running |
| 16 | 20 | 28 | Kyle Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | 92 | Running |
| 17 | 30 | 38 | Joe Graf Jr. | RSS Racing | Ford | 92 | Running |
| 18 | 27 | 43 | Ryan Ellis | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 92 | Running |
| 19 | 35 | 45 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 92 | Running |
| 20 | 16 | 16 | Chandler Smith | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 92 | Running |
| 21 | 34 | 4 | Garrett Smithley | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 92 | Running |
| 22 | 17 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | 92 | Running |
| 23 | 9 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 92 | Running |
| 24 | 1 | 8 | Josh Berry | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 91 | Running |
| 25 | 24 | 26 | Kaz Grala | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | 91 | Running |
| 26 | 36 | 53 | Patrick Emerling | Emerling-Gase Motorsports | Chevrolet | 91 | Running |
| 27 | 38 | 02 | Blaine Perkins | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 91 | Running |
| 28 | 32 | 08 | Alex Labbé | SS-Green Light Racing | Ford | 91 | Running |
| 29 | 31 | 6 | Brennan Poole | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 91 | Running |
| 30 | 33 | 91 | Chad Chastain* | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 91 | Running |
| 31 | 37 | 35 | Joey Gase | Emerling-Gase Motorsports | Chevrolet | 90 | Running |
| 32 | 5 | 20 | John Hunter Nemechek | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 89 | Running |
| 33 | 10 | 00 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 87 | Running |
| 34 | 4 | 19 | Connor Mosack | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 85 | Accident |
| 35 | 19 | 31 | Parker Retzlaff | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 84 | Running |
| 36 | 28 | 92 | Josh Williams | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 82 | Running |
| 37 | 15 | 24 | Corey Heim* | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | 81 | Suspension |
| 38 | 29 | 44 | Sage Karam | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 7 | Transmission |
| DNQ | 74 | Dawson Cram | CHK Racing | Chevrolet | |||
| DNQ | 66 | Timmy Hill | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | |||
| DNQ | 07 | Stefan Parsons | SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet |
* – Ineligible for points