Things have been difficult for Richard Childress Racing in the month since Kyle Busch’s shocking death.
A winner of 234 races across NASCAR’s top three national touring series — the most ever — Busch had driven in the top-level Cup Series for Richard Childress Racing over the past four seasons until he tragically died on May 21 at the age of 41 due to complications of severe pneumonia that progressed into sepsis.
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But on Saturday night in San Diego, RCR finally had a reason to celebrate again.
Austin Hill, the driver tasked with replacing Busch at the Cup level, won the United Rentals 250 in the second-tier O’Reilly Auto Parts Series at Naval Base Coronado. A veteran of the O’Reilly Series, the victory marked Hill’s first-ever at a road course and RCR’s first win at that style of track since 2016.
More: Kyle Busch embraced being ‘Rowdy’ — and NASCAR needed him
After taking the checkered flag, Hill drove his No. 21 Chevrolet over to a spot on the military installation where Busch’s stylized No. 8 was printed and did a burnout next to it.
“Hell yeah man,” one of Hill’s crew members said on the radio during his burnout. “Good doing it on the logo. KB would be proud.”
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Upon arriving in victory lane, Hill swapped out his sponsor’s ballcap with one that had Busch’s No. 8 on the front of it. He was emotional after the victory during an interview with a reporter from the CW.
“I was just looking for something those last few laps. I’m not going to lie, I started talking to this guy a little bit,” Hill said, pointing at the No. 8 on his hat. “Down the straightaways, I’m like, ‘Man, Kyle if you’re here, give me something right? Let me find another gear.’ For whatever reason the car started to come to life…Everybody at RCR, we’ve been through a lot these last several weeks.”
In victory lane, Hill and his RCR team all performed the Busch Bow, a nod to the two-time Cup Series champion’s signature celebration.
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The CW also caught up with team owner Richard Childress and the 80-year-old veteran of the sport was searching for words to describe how the win felt.
“It’s great. It’s great to win here. We all got Kyle in our hearts,” Childress said, his voice cracking. “You may not show it on the outside but you do.”
Hill dedicated the victory to the entire team based in Welcome, North Carolina.
“RC has been through a lot in this sport. I knew that this win meant a lot to him. You don’t really see RC get too emotional. To see him emotional in victory lane like he was, that just goes to show hard (Busch’s death) is hitting everybody, and him included, and how special this win is for RCR,” Hill said after the race. “This win is for everyone. This win isn’t just for the No. 21 team. This is for the entire organization of 300-plus employees that we have.”
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The chaotic race across the 3.4-mile track — NASCAR’s first on an active U.S. military base — lasted more than four-and-a-half hours and featured 14 cautions and two red flags. Hill passed Taylor Gray on the final lap for a memorable finish. His celebratory burnout damaged his rear tires so badly that his car had to be towed to victory lane.
A 32-year-old from Georgia, Hill has driven full-time in the O’Reilly Series for RCR over the past five seasons, finishing inside the top six of the standings each year. Saturday marked his 16th win in the series. He also has eight wins in the Truck Series and has been a regular season champion of both the O’Reilly and Truck Series.
For Sunday’s Cup Series race, Hill qualified 10th. Since jumping into Busch’s seat following his sudden death, the car has been renumbered from 8 to 33. Childress has said that Busch’s stylized No. 8 will remain retired until his son, 11-year-old Brexton, wants to use it.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Austin Hill, who replaced Kyle Busch in Cup Series, gets NASCAR victory for RCR
