Richard Childress Racing, for the fourth year in a row, opened its season with a Daytona International Speedway victory. It was Jesse Love who bagged the victory while his teammate collected both stage points. And they carried that dominance straight into the playoffs. Now determined to take home the 2025 title amid JR Motorsports’ dominance, thanks to Connor Zilisch, one RCR driver faces the brunt and pays the price for his past mistake as the sun sets on the Blue Cross NC 250 at Charlotte.

Austin Hill departed Kansas Speedway with a solid third-place finish and 40 points, but the road ahead in the Round of 12 remains tough. After being suspended for intentionally right-rear hooking Aric Almirola at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Hill forfeited all his playoff points for the rest of the season. Coming to today, his chances got worse.

Speaking post-race, he said, “I’m not pointing the finger at anyone, if anyone’s that followed us, me for losing the 21 bonus points in the regular season. So, we’re just gonna go on to Las Vegas, Talladega, Martinsville, try to win some of those, steal the show a little bit. Then go to Phoenix and do the same thing.” 

Essentially, he began the playoffs with zero points, and a tough outing at Bristol Motor Speedway only deepened his struggles. Heading into the Round of 12 finale at Charlotte ROVAL, the No. 21 driver sits 10th in the standings, trailing the playoff cut line by seven points. And let’s just say, Charlotte hasn’t gone easy on him…

By lap 4, he executed a daring three-wide pass through turn seven on Sheldon Creed and Corey Day to move up to 12th. He continued gaining ground, reaching 10th place by lap 8 after Aric Almirola went wide in Turn 7. Austin Hill’s momentum carried him further into the top five as he passed Carson Kvapil entering the backstretch chicane on lap 25.

Five laps later, the 31-year-old made a decisive move to take fourth place from Justin Allgaier, showcasing his early race pace and aggression. He maintained a strong position through lap 42, overtaking Smith and keeping himself in contention during the middle stages of the race.

However, mechanical issues began to slow Hill down in the latter part of the race. After restarting around 20th position, he battled his way inside the top 10 by lap 46, but four laps later, he reported that he was down a cylinder, causing his pace to drop significantly. This issue saw him lose a position to Grala and fall three points below the playoff cut line by 51.

Three laps later, Hill slipped into 15th place, and on lap 65, he was seen on pit road with his team working under the hood, attempting to address the mechanical problems. Despite his strong early performance and aggressive moves through the field, the technical setback ultimately hindered Hill’s ability to secure a top finish in the Round of 12 elimination race, ultimately ending his title hopes.

Reflecting on his post-season, he added, “Things that I could do better as a driver. I’ve made a lot of mistakes throughout the middle portion of the season and later on. And I thought we were turning it around there at Kansas, having a strong showing. And we were showing it here today and just came up short… “

“We should have never even been that far back in the first place. So, without the issue, we would have been probably plus 12 points or something like that. So, we probably were gonna make it in with the points that I would have had. But you can’t go back on that. I mean, NASCAR already took it from us.” 

In scenarios of what could have been, Hill would definitely take back his NASCAR suspension that docked him 21 points, and now, the 31-year-old sounds off on his championship hopes. But not all hope is lost for RCR.

For now, RCR still has one weapon in the playoffs, and that is Jesse Love. Though Love claimed the Stage 2 win, he finished 12th, but he is very much in the game. He sits in 5th, -2 points behind the cutline, and now he will have to fire up his engines at Martinsville to keep his and RCR’s playoff hopes alive.

But as one falls, another triumphs, and it was Connor Zilisch claiming his much-awaited 10th win of the season.

Connor Zilisch earns his first-ever double-digit win in the Xfinity Series

Connor Zilisch is running the show, and everyone else is just along for the ride. Claiming a 10th win of the season, Zilisch made it look effortless today on the Charlotte ROVAL, cementing his dominance over the second half of the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Add to that an overtime finish that completely shook up the playoff standings, and you have a race to remember.

Zilisch led 61 of the 68 laps, only surrendering the lead briefly for an early pit stop before the Stage 1 and Stage 2 conclusion. Earlier in the season, through the first 12 races, he had just a single win, at COTA, the only road course on the schedule. A back injury at Talladega forced him to miss Texas, but since then, he has been unstoppable over the 17 races following Texas.

With nine wins, five victories in the last seven races, and 17 consecutive top-five finishes. Zilisch kept true to his word after his Kansas disappointment, and the future Trackhouse Racing driver looks formidable as the Round of 8 approaches.

You can’t talk about Zilisch’s 10-win season without mentioning Corey Heim in the Truck Series, who also has 10 wins, a series record. This marks the first time since 1974 that two drivers in a NASCAR national series have reached double-digit wins in the same year. Back then, Richard Petty and Cale Yarborough both notched 10 wins while finishing 1-2 in the standings.

The bigger takeaway? NASCAR is overflowing with young talent. From Zilisch and Heim to Carson Kvapil, Brent Crews, and Butterbean Queen, plus a dozen more rising stars in the lower ranks, the future of stock car racing has never looked brighter.