A championship favorite returns to victory lane as the NASCAR Xfinity Series hits Road America for another round of road course racing.
Austin Hill‘s win at Pocono was his first trip to victory lane in the NASCAR Xfinity Series since Atlanta in March. Hill started off the season red hot, winning three of the first six races. He went winless in the next thirteen races until this past weekend in Pocono.
Hill’s car wasn’t the fastest but a strategy call had him with the leaders late in the race. A bold move to get around Josh Berry worked in his favor before a caution flag ended the race for Hill’s fourth NASCAR Xfinity Series win of the year.
The Track
The NASCAR Xfinity Series visits one of the legendary race tracks in American motorsports this weekend. Road America has hosted an array of racing series since it opened in 1955. Still with the original layout Road America is one of the faster road courses on the schedule.
The front straightaway is longer than Pocono’s and “the kink” is a very underrated corner. It requires a huge level of commitment with very little room for error. A mistake at “the kink” could bring a catastrophic end to a driver’s day.
Prediction
Pocono’s prediction of Josh Berry came within a few laps of coming true. Berry qualified on the pole by over a quarter of a second. He also swept both stages and led 51 of 92 laps throughout the race. Berry couldn’t survive an overtime restart, however, letting the win slip away to Austin Hill.
This week A.J. Allmendinger makes a return to the NASCAR Xfinity Series entry list. While he hasn’t had the finishes in the Cup Series he would expect from road courses, Allmendinger has a win and second-place finish in his two Xfinity Series starts.
With the Cup Series drivers in Richmond this weekend I’m picking A.J. Allmendinger to dominate at Road America. A return to victory lane during his frustrating 2023 season is much needed.
How To Watch – Road America 180 (All times ET)
- Practice/Qualifying: Friday, July 28, 5 p.m. on USA
- Road America 180: Saturday, July 29, 3 p.m. on NBC
