Rookie Hill Conquers Monster Mile
DOVER, Del. – Austin Hill faced the Monster Mile and didn’t blink.
The 19-year-old from Winston, Ga., conquered the high-banked mile oval in the Drive Sober 150 presented by Delaware Office of Highway Safety Friday afternoon. It was Hill’s first win in his seventh career NASCAR K&N Pro Series East start.
| POS | DRIVER |
|---|---|
| 1 | Austin Hill |
| 2 | Justin Boston |
| 3 | Kyle Benjamin |
| 4 | Brandon McReynolds |
| 5 | Jesse Little |
The race also featured a huge points swing. Dylan Kwasniewski, whose lead was 40 two races ago, was sidelined early by electrical issues. He returned to the track and finished 48 laps down in 29th. His nearest challenger, Brett Moffitt, finished 11th to slice Kwasniewski’s lead to just five heading into the finale at Road Atlanta on Friday, Oct. 18.
Hill led a parade of rookies who captured the top three spots and six of the top eight.
Justin Boston finished second and Kyle Benjamin third. Boston, 24, was making his second series start while Benjamin, 15, was making his debut.
Brandon McReynolds and Jesse Little were fourth and fifth, respectively.
Hill took the lead on Lap 88 from CJ Faison, who led a race-high 77 laps, and led the rest of the way. He held off a charge from Boston and Benjamin following a late-race restart to win by .412 seconds. His previous best finish was seventh at Richmond in April.
Daniel Suarez was sixth, followed by rookies Brandon Jones and Trey Hutchens. Austin Dyne and Dylan Presnell rounded out the top 10.
The Drive Sober 150 will air on Fox Sports 1 on Sunday, Oct. 13 at noon. It will also replay on Monday, Oct. 14 at 7 p.m
