Three spots short: Austin Hill's Las Vegas finish solid but not historic

 Hill is one of two drivers, along with Chandler Smith, to finish in the top-five in all three races so far in 2024, as the Georgia native has an unheard of 2.0 average finish after the first three events of the season. 

Surprisingly, Hill has only won one of six stages and led just 17 laps, but he's been at the front when it's mattered most. He's also started up front in all three races this year, with an average start of third showing that the 21 team is locked in for both qualifying and the race each and every weekend. 

Hill's fourth place finish at Las Vegas proves to every other driver in the series that he's not just a superspeedway ace, but a formidable contender no matter what kind of track the series travels to. 

With NASCAR boasting a diverse schedule containing superspeedways, short tracks, road courses, intermediate tracks, a street course, and whatever monstrosity Darlington is, versatility is key to winning a championship over a nine-month schedule, the most grueling in all of professional sports. 

As the Xfinity Series gears up to head west for Phoenix, Hill is looking for his first top five at the Arizona track. In four races at Phoenix Raceway, Hill has garnered three top 10 finishes and led 43 laps, with an average finish of 10.0 and an average start of 9.0. 

Hill will likely have to go through a Chevy teammate in Sammy Smith if he wants his third victory of the season, as Smith led 92 laps en route to his first career win last March. 

After Phoenix, the NASCAR Xfinity Series will take a one-week break before returning to action at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, TX, where A.J. Allmendinger will look to defend his 2023 victory. But before Hill and the field get to tangle in the Lone Star State, they must first try and conquer the desert.

The Xfinity Series race at Phoenix will air on March 9 at 4:30 p.m. ET, and will be broadcasted on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.