(Press release from NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications)
Austin Hill celebrates Sunday evening at New Smyrna Speedway (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)
Offseason did nothing to slow down Austin Hill.
The 20-year-old picked up right where he left off last year in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, leading every lap Saturday in winning the Hart To Heart 150 Breast Cancer Foundation 150 at New Smyrna Speedway.
Hill finished 2014 with back-to-back wins at Greenville (South Carolina) Pickens Speedway and Dover International Speedway. And he kicked off his pursuit of a NASCAR championship with a dominating performance on the .48-mile high-banked oval just south of the “World Center of Racing,” Daytona International Speedway.
The NASCAR Next driver won his first career 21 Means 21 Pole Award and then survived a challenge on a green-white-checkered from rookie Dalton Sargeant to earn the win. The race ended under a yellow-checkered following an accident on the white-flag lap.
Sargeant, making his first series start, settled for second. Gray Gaulding was third, followed by Kyle Benjamin. Sargeant and Benjamin, as well as sixth-place Dillon Bassett and seventh-place William Byron are Sunoco Rookie of the Year contenders.
Nick Drake, Sergio Pena and Kenzie Ruston rounded out the top 10.
It was the fourth career win for Hill, who also won at Dover in 2013.
The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East will return to the track at Greenville on April 4.
The Hart To Heart Breast Cancer Foundation 150 will air on NBCSN on Thursday, Feb. 19 at 10:30 p.m. ET.
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