HAMPTON, Ga. — After more than five years of trying, Sam Hunt Racing nearly pulled off its first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory Saturday at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Running third with two laps to go, Chandler Smith nudged leader Austin Hill out of the groove entering Turn Three, creating space for Heim to make a move coming to the white flag. With Hill and Smith side-by-side, Heim had to pick which driver to push down the frontstretch.
Ultimately, he decided to go with Hill, disregarding his Toyota teammate. Hill launched back ahead entering Turn One, but Heim’s No. 26 Supra had momentum. A five-time winner in the Craftsman Truck Series this season, Heim attempted to squeeze past Hill in the top groove – but it ended up failing. Hill slid up the track and made contact with the 22-year-old, forcing him into the fence.
At that point, Heim had nothing left for the leader. Parker Kligerman made a last-ditch effort going into the final corner, but Hill held on for his third victory of the season and a sweep at Atlanta.
Heim crossed the line fifth.
“I think at the end of the day, I would have done the same thing,” Heim said after the race. “I’m a little frustrated about it, but if you are in a spot to win at these superspeedways and someone gets to your right rear, you have to do that, or else you are going to lose the race. I can be mad all I want, but if I was in the same spot, I would have done the same thing.
“I have to give a huge thank you to Sam Hunt Racing – to bring me here. We literally don’t have a logo on the thing, but we have a lot of people in the background that are providing a lot of support – Toyota, Sam Hunt Racing, Synergy – all of those guys get us to the racetrack, week-in and week-out, if we don’t have a logo on the car. Very thankful right now, and another top five for Sam Hunt Racing – happy about that, but certainly still frustrated.”
But because Heim elected to push Hill – a Chevrolet – the finish stirred up some controversy.
Heim defended himself, saying the move was what he needed to position himself best for the victory. On the other side of the coin, Smith – a full-time and playoff driver for Joe Gibbs Racing – expected help from a manufacturer ally.
“I’m kind of speechless honestly. There are a lot of different things that I could have done,” said Smith, who finished fourth. “I could have been more selfish when I got cleared and went to the bottom and covered that and controlled the race for sure, but I was trying to be a good teammate and that didn’t pay for me today, as usual.
“It is what it is. We had a really fast Wheelers Toyota GR Supra all day. It was as Xfinity Internet. I feel like I’ve been robbed of three Atlanta wins now unfortunately in my career here.”
Hill’s victory is his fourth at Atlanta since the reconfiguration in 2022, and as thrilled as he was to win, he was just as shocked that the Toyotas didn’t stick together.
“Very surprised that the 26 pushed me there and didn’t go with a Toyota,” Hill said after the race. “I thought that I messed up in [Turns] One and Two. I hate it that [Heim] got into the fence. I wasn’t trying to run him into the fence; I was just trying to get him aero tight or get him aero loose because that was happening to me a lot today.
“We’re going to celebrate this one because it didn’t come easy.”
For Heim, it was his fourth top 10 in 11 starts this season for SHR. He finished a company-best third at Iowa Speedway in June.
The No. 26 entry is 18th in owner’s points.