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Austin Hill is looking to make history this weekend as the only NASCAR Xfinity Series driver to ever win the first three races of a season, and he has a great chance to do so.
Several drivers have won the first two races of the Xfinity Series season, including Dale Earnhardt in 1986, Chad Little in 1995, and Tony Stewart in 2008, but Hill is looking to go the extra mile as the Xfinity Series heads to Las Vegas.
Hill wouldn’t be the first driver to win three races in a row in NASCAR’s second-tier series, as Mark Martin (1997) Kyle Busch (2016) both won three consecutive at some point in the year, but no driver has ever started the season with three consecutive victories.
While Hill is known as a superspeedway ace, it’s worth noting his first non-superspeedway win in the Xfinity Series was at Las Vegas Motor Speedway — the same track the series is heading to this weekend as Hill is on the verge of history.
While Hill didn’t dominate last year’s race, winning on a last-lap pass, he proved in this past weekend’s race at Atlanta that all he needs to do is put himself in position to go to victory lane. As dramatic as last year’s finish was, he’d probably prefer a calmer race on Saturday.
Regardless of how wild or tame Saturday’s race is, making history won’t be an easy task for Hill. Chandler Smith, who fell victim to Hill’s late race charge in Las Vegas a year ago is sure to be a contender on Saturday, as is Hill’s former teammate Sheldon Creed, who has finished second and fourth respectively in the first two races of the season. Riley Herbst will likely be in the mix as well, as he’s fresh off of his first career win at the track last October.
Even if Hill’s bid for history comes up short, garnering 11 playoff points in the first two races is an incredible start to the season. But a third win in three races would give Hill 16 playoff points, a mark that’s hard to reach for most of the playoff field through a 26-event regular season, much less three races.
Hill will get his shot at history in Las Vegas at 5 p.m. ET on Saturday. The race will air on FS1, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
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