Historic. That’s one way to describe Austin Hill’s win at the 2025 Ag-Pro 300. The Richard Childress Racing driver secured his first win at Talladega Superspeedway under the most controversial circumstances, but it’s a triumph he’ll take with both hands. After a photo finish at the 2.660-mile tri-oval, there were moments of uncertainty when NASCAR was reviewing the video footage to determine the winner. Ultimately, cheers were heard on the team radio when a decision was reached as the No. 21 Chevy went on to make donuts at Talladega’s front stretch.

It wasn’t just an ordinary win. Hill’s triumph was his ninth on a drafting track, the most in the Xfinity Series. With this result, he overtook the legendary Dale Earnhardt and Tony Stewart to establish his dominance in NASCAR’s second tier.

Austin Hill gives credit where it’s due

Expectations were high for Austin Hill going into the race at Talladega Superspeedway. After all, the Richard Childress Racing driver had already won at Atlanta and Martinsville earlier this season and entered the race tied for all-time superspeedway wins and laps led in the Xfinity Series. Starting second, just behind his teammate Jesse Love, it looked like just the perfect occasion to break that record, and that’s exactly what he did. However, none of that would have been possible without a late caution.

Connor Zilisch was leading the race right until the final lap, but it was Jesse Love’s push on the back of the No. 88 Chevy that proved to be the difference maker. The contact sent the 18-year-old spinning, as he went on to slam into the infield wall and end up 27th. The caution flag was waved at exactly 17:20:49, and both Austin Hill and Jeb Burton were side by side. And after carefully reviewing the footage, the No. 21 Chevy driver was crowned the winner.

Reflecting on his triumph with The CW Network, Austin Hill said, “Me and my teammate Jesse, we worked really well together all day for the most part. I was pushing him as hard as I could to go to the top. I knew he was going to have a really good run at the backstretch, and I figured he was going to go left and try to hit the bottom.” Hill went on to say, “I got to give a huge shoutout to my spotter, Derek Kneeland. Without him, I can’t do half of the stuff I do inside this race car. I’m gonna give it up to him today. He worked extremely hard up on top of that roof.”

Derek Kneeland is also the spotter for RCR’s Kyle Busch in the Cup Series, and despite his success in the Xfinity series with Hill, the Gen 7 Cup car has not been a good omen for Busch in the top tier. After losing out on a possible top-10 finish at the Talladega Cup race in the fall of 2024, Derek Kneeland was furious. “I’m not mad at any of you guys. Like I said, it’s just between NASCAR and the OEM screwing this whole deal up. We just don’t race. It’s terrible.” So, while Kneeland’s superspeedway struggles continue in the Cup Series, he would be chuffed to give Hill a career-first victory at Talladega. One that Hill was extremely proud of.

Talladega was a landmark win for Hill. He added, “I’ve just really wanted to win. We’ve won at all these other superspeedways. To finally get it done at all the different superspeedways we go to, it just goes to show that the #21 team can win at any of them. We’re really good at this, solid racing.” Hill has won 5 of the last 6 Xfinity races at Atlanta and has 3 wins at Daytona since 2023. Talladega was missing, but not anymore.

Like a true team player, Austin Hill didn’t go into the race with the single-minded objective to win. Despite winning Stage 2, the racer spent the majority of the final stage pushing his teammate Jesse Love, hoping that a Richard Childress Racing driver would end up in Victory Lane. As luck would have it, the tables turned right at the end, and the 31-year-old went on to clinch a memorable triumph at the ‘Dega’, a career-first for Hill.

However, the other side of the coin tells a devastating tale for one driver who gave it his all, and felt the victory was his.

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Burton is heartbroken by NASCAR’s verdict

Jeb Burton will be feeling hard done by. NASCAR is a sport defined by fine margins, and that proved to be the difference maker at Talladega Superspeedway this time around. The race was so close that the sanctioning body needed to review visual footage of the time the caution flag was waved to determine the winner of the 2025 Ag-Pro 300. Despite finishing second, his best result of the opening 11 races so far, the No. 27 Chevy driver was left with a bitter taste in his mouth.

Sharing his thoughts after the race, a disgruntled Burton said, “We did everything we could today. I feel like when the caution flew, I was ahead of (Hill). Last week at Rockingham, I got pretty screwed on a yellow that put me back a row, and today I lost the race by a timing line. I don’t see him ahead of me in any of these.” Getting choked up, he went on to say, “We don’t have a lot of chances to win. That’s what’s frustrating. That’s it.”

Talladega is somewhat of Jeb Burton’s specialty. The racer has secured two wins in the Xfinity Series over the years, both at the superspeedway track, and was hoping to increase that tally this time around. It was a result that was hard to accept, and the racer said, “Every angle I keep seeing, we won the race.” Ultimately, a runner-up finish isn’t the worst possible outcome for Jordan Anderson Racing, even though it might seem like it after coming so close, yet being so far from Victory Lane this time around.