NASCAR
Austin Hill Takes Maiden O’Reilly Road Course Win at San Diego, Honors Kyle Busch
CORONADO, Calif. – Finally king of the road after many tries, Austin Hill is victorious in the maiden O’Reilly Series race at Naval Base Coronado. Hill and the No. 21 Chevrolet were among the class of the field throughout Saturday’s marathon event, leading 13 laps around the San Diego circuit. Hill only took command for good on the last lap, however, getting by Taylor Gray. After the checkers, the No. 21 did a massive burnout celebration in turn eight. This marked Richard Childress Racing’s first triumph since last month’s death of Kyle Busch, leading to heavy emotions all around in victory lane.
“It’s extremely special, just to finally check that box of getting that road course win,” Hill said. “We’ve been so close so many times.” Hill’s postrace donuts were intense enough that the No. 21 blew out both back tires and needed a tow to victory lane. The burnout happened around Busch’s No. 8 logo painted on track.
Hill, who now also drives the car Busch once ran in the NASCAR Cup Series, claimed Saturday’s win may have seen some divine intervention from his former teammate.
.@_AustinHill celebrates around Kyle Busch’s No. 8.
It marks @RCRracing‘s first victory since Kyle’s passing. pic.twitter.com/zTaStMJcyy
— The CW Sports (@TheCW_Sports) June 21, 2026
“I’m not gonna lie, I started talking to this guy a little bit down the straightaways,” Hill said pointing to his 8 hat. “I was like ‘Man, Kyle, if you’re here, give me something, let me find another gear.’ And for whatever reason, the car started coming to life and the two leaders got together and when there was blood in the water behind the 54 [Taylor Gray], I knew it was going to be tough to get around him, that it was going to be a battle. And when I got clear of him, I was very surprised to see how much of a gap I got on him. I can’t thank these guys enough, everyone on this 21 team at RCR. We’ve been through a lot these last several weeks. Man, this is awesome, so cool.”
Hall of Fame car owner Childress was also very visibly emotional alongside Hill in victory lane. “It’s great to win here and we all have Kyle in our hearts,” Childress said. “You may not show it on the outside, but you do here,” he said, pointing to his heart.
Hill was a front runner for much of Saturday’s race, starting fourth and inheriting the lead on lap 12. Naval Base Coronado’s 3.4-mile and 16-turn course definitely gave us a memorable race on a few different fronts. The very eventful United Rentals Driven to Serve 250 saw over an hour in stoppages for two separate track repairs. The first delay was on lap two to repair loose manhole covers. Lap 36 then saw a massive 25-car restart pileup, forcing significant wall repair. Later on, a fan hopped the fence to talk with Sheldon Creed.
More angles of the crash. https://t.co/KMsZWge1wz pic.twitter.com/WvQKR7124C
— The CW Sports (@TheCW_Sports) June 20, 2026
“I think he’s wasted.”
A fan just hopped the fence to chat with @sheldoncreed 🤣 pic.twitter.com/QPZyCbP6TI
— The CW Sports (@TheCW_Sports) June 21, 2026
Carson Kvapil held the lead with three laps left, only to get moved by Stage 2 winner Taylor Gray. Gray’s lead would be very short-lived, with Hill making a last lap pass in turn three and driving off to the victory.
Hill’s win with RCR ends an unprecedented 11-straight road course wins for JR Motorsports, despite them having a few cars in the top-five. Taylor Gray was runner-up behind Hill, followed by Sheldon Creed, Carson Kvapil, and Sammy Smith. The rest of San Diego’s top-10 were: Jesse Love, Parker Retzlaff, Austin Green, Harrison Burton, and Corey Day. The No. 17 Chevrolet suffered early radiator damage from striking a manhole cover. The Hendrick crew was allowed to make repairs, however, and get back on the lead lap.
15th-place finisher Jeremy Clements also set a new O’Reilly Series record, making his 548th career start. This broke a one-week tie held with Kenny Wallace for most races ran in series history.
Despite recording a DNF in 32nd-place, Justin Allgaier continues to hold a 224-point lead in the championship standings. O’Reilly teams have six races left until their Chase begins.
Updated @NASCAROReillyAP Chase standings after San Diego, with 6 races left until their points reset. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/FKgcT5ew35
— Peter Stratta (@peterstratta) June 21, 2026
Back-to-back California road courses will see O’Reilly competitors take on Sonoma Raceway next Saturday. The Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250 goes green at 5:30 p.m. ET on The CW, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo credits to Sean Gardner/Getty Images
