MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Austin Hill dove under a trio of wrecking cars in the final corner of overtime Saturday night to win the US Marine Corps 250 at Martinsville Speedway, giving car owner Richard Childress his 100th NASCAR Xfinity Series victory and earning Hill a $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus.
The race, which saw 15 cautions, came down to one final green-flag lap after Matt DiBenedetto’s spin sent it to overtime. Taylor Gray had taken the lead on the restart, using his bumper to clear leader Sammy Smith, but Smith returned the favor in Turn 3 of the final lap, spinning Gray’s Toyota into the outside wall. Hill hit Justin Allgaier’s Chevrolet from behind in the ensuing chaos, squeezed through on the bottom and brought Sheldon Creed with him, crossing the line just 0.190 seconds ahead of Creed to steal the win.
“I hated this place because of all the beating and banging that was going on — and to top it off, we won a hundred grand,” Hill said afterward. Allgaier held on for third, with Brennan Poole and Sam Mayer rounding out the top five. Pole winner Connor Zilisch swept the first two stages and led a race-high 100 laps but was eliminated by contact with the outside wall and finished 28th. Creed’s runner-up finish extended his own record for most career second-place results without a series win.
The Xfinity Series returns to action the following Saturday at Darlington Raceway for the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200.