On Saturday night, the NASCAR Xfinity Series kicked off with Noah Gragson winning the race. However, there was a huge moment during one of the restarts, that was quite bizarre. When the green flag waved, Denny Hamlin got a great start and rocketed into the lead. However, things went in the opposite direction for poor old Timmy Hill, driving alongside him.
Hill unexpectedly slowed down and got swallowed up by the pack. At the same time, Daniel Hemric got bogged down because he was right on Hill’s tail. As a result, several cars overtook both of them, before Hemric finally got past the struggling car. As it turns out, his transmission got stuck between gears.
"Something broke."
Timmy Hill stayed out for the restart with 32 laps to go, and chaos ensued. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/KUArLpPEYj
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) September 4, 2021
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In the end, a disappointed Hemric could only muster 24th place, as he ran into more trouble in the race. Meanwhile, Hill wound up crashing out of the race later on. The #66 driver was lucky that he managed to get the car going again, but he suffered the consequences and later crashed out. It is also worth noting that he was in the Top 2 because he did not pit, which would come back to bite him.
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Aside from Timmy Hill, how did the rest of the pack fare during the race?
As mentioned before, Noah Gragson seized victory in Darlington, making it his third career win. With this, he has finally secured his berth in the Xfinity Series playoffs, with two races until the regular season ends. Meanwhile, championship leaders, AJ Allmendinger and Austin Cindric had contrasting fortunes this weekend.
The former could only muster 20th at the Track Too Tough to Tame. On the other end of the spectrum, Cindric managed to finish third, behind Gragson and Harrison Burton. Now, Burton and Hemric will be a bit desperate, as they are the only ones in the Top 5 without a win this season. Additionally, Jeremy Clements and Brandon Jones are also winless this season at the tail of the Top 10.
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READ MORE: “You Just Have to Try to Do the Best of Both” – Timmy Hill on Qualifying for the Daytona 500