Austin Hill Wins His First Summer Shootout Championship
To win a championship takes skill, luck, and determination. Austin Hill used each of these qualities to capture the Semi-Pro Legends championship for the 2008 Summer Shootout at Lowe’s Motor Speedway (NC). Week after week, he battled strong car counts, dodged several wrecks and avoided spins ahead of him on his way to winning the title. Finishing strong down the homestretch was the key to success, as Hill took home a pair of victories and a runner-up finish in the final three races of the season.
“It is amazing,” said Hill. “I am glad I won. When I crossed the finish line, I was going crazy in the car because I won the championship. I have wanted to win the championship at the Shootout since I ran Bandoleros here. I almost won it in Young Guns; I ended up second. Last year I was sixth in Semi-Pro. This year it was just awesome.”
Like last year, Hill was strongest as the season rolled on. The Winston, Georgia, driver recorded all of his top-ten finishes in the final five weeks of the season.
“The first five weeks we were not that good,” added Hill. “Our car was maybe a 10th-place car or maybe a little bit better than that. We came up here one Monday night [for practice] and found a setup, and we have stuck with that every week. We won two races with that setup and would have won three, but I drove off in the corner on the final lap tonight and got loose.”
The championship comes after Hill ended up one point shy of the top spot in Atlanta’s Thursday Thunder program. It wasn’t a result of lack of effort, as he won and finished second in the final two races of the season.
“[Only] One point [short]…that was crazy,” said Hill. “We had two races due to the rain the week before. I had the fastest car out there on the track. I finished second in the first one and first in the second one. I looked in my mirror and the #680, Bryce Walker, was right there. All he had to do is finish one position behind me to win the championship, and that was what he did.”
Winston, Georgia, Driver Takes the Semi-Pro Title at Lowe’s Motor Speedway
(top) Austin Hill peps for the feature. (middle) Austin on track. (bottom) Austin will takes home the championship. (51 Photos)
With one goal behind him, the rest of the season comes down to a possible home track championship and a shot at a national title in the Semi-Pro ranks.
“We are leading the points at Lanier National Speedway (GA), so we are going to run there and other tracks for the rest of the year. We are also going to go up to the Nationals later this year, and hopefully it will be our names on the championship trophy there too.”
