NASCAR Truck Series: Austin Hill wins 2019 NextEra Energy 250

Austin Hill opened up the 2019 NASCAR Truck Series season by winning the NextEra Energy 250 at Daytona International Speedway.

Hattori Racing Enterprises released 2018 NASCAR Truck Series champion Brett Moffitt following the conclusion of the 2018 season before hiring Austin Hill as his replacement behind the wheel of the #16 Toyota.

Hill proved that the #16 Toyota still has what it takes to win races, as he opened up the 2019 season by winning the NextEra Energy 250 at Daytona International Speedway. The victory is his first career Truck Series victory, and it locks him into this season’s playoffs, which do not get underway until August.

Hill won the 111-lap race, which was scheduled to be a 100-lap race but was extended into overtime due to several late caution flag periods, around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) high-banked Daytona International Speedway oval in Daytona Beach, Florida after starting it in 10th place.

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ThorSport Racing’s Grant Enfinger finished 0.278 seconds behind Hill in second place in his #98 Ford. Niece Motorsports’ Ross Chastain and Young’s Motorsports’ Spencer Boyd were the race’s highest finishing Chevrolet drivers. They finished it in third and fourth place in their #45 Chevrolet and #20 Chevrolet, respectively. ThorSport Racing’s Matt Crafton rounded out the top five by finishing in fifth in his #88 Ford.

Reaume Brothers Racing’s Josh Reaume, Niece Motorsports’ Timothy Peters, NEMCO Motorsports’ Angela Ruch, AM Racing’s Austin Wayne Self and Halmar Friesen Racing’s Stewart Friesen rounded out the top 10 by finishing in sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and 10th place in their #33 Chevrolet, #44 Chevrolet, #8 Chevrolet, #22 Chevrolet and #10 Chevrolet, respectively.

Chevrolet drivers rounded out the top 12 as well, as Copp Motorsports’ Bobby Gerhart and Clay Greenfield Motorsports’ Clay Greenfield finished the race in 11th and 12th place in their #63 Chevrolet and #68 Chevrolet, respectively.

That said, Friesen, Gerhart and Greenfield did not actually finish the race. Only nine of the 32 drivers who started it managed to finish it, as the race was littered with wrecks. All nine of those drivers finished it on the lead lap, but even several of those drivers were involved in some kind of wreck throughout the race.

The race featured a total of 15 lead changes among 10 drivers. Aside of Hill, who led more laps than anybody else in the field with 39 laps led, nine drivers led at least one lap of the race. Those drivers were Reaume, Ruch, David Gilliland, Ben Rhodes, Sheldon Creed, Todd Gilliland, race polesitter Christian Eckes, Johnny Sauter and Brett Moffitt. Creed won stage one and Sauter won stage two.

The race also featured a total of 11 caution flag periods, a new all-time record at the track, for a total of 55 laps.

Here are the full race results of the 2019 NextEra Energy 250 at Daytona International Speedway.

Race Results
1st – Austin Hill
2nd – Grant Enfinger
3rd – Ross Chastain
4th – Spencer Boyd
5th – Matt Crafton
6th – Josh Reaume
7th – Timothy Peters
8th – Angela Ruch
9th – Austin Wayne Self
10th – Stewart Friesen
11th – Bobby Gerhart
12th – Clay Greenfield
13th – David Gilliland
14th – Ben Rhodes
15th – Gus Dean
16th – Joe Nemechek
17th – Sheldon Creed
18th – Harrison Burton
19th – Todd Gilliland
20th – Cory Roper
21st – Myatt Snider
22nd – Christian Eckes
23rd – Johnny Sauter
24th – Brennan Poole
25th – Jordan Anderson
26th – Brett Moffitt
27th – Chris Fontaine
28th – Ray Ciccarelli
29th – Tyler Dippel
30th – Robby Lyons
31st – Bryan Dauzat
32nd – Natalie Decker

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The next race on the 2019 NASCAR Truck Series schedule is the Active Pest Control 200, which is scheduled to be broadcast live from Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia on Fox Sports 1 beginning at 4:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, February 23.

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