Strong Talladega Qualifying Points Hill Toward 2027 Cup Slate

Austin Hill (right) and Richard Childress. (Nigel Kinrade/NKP photo)

By Justin Glenn, SWN Staff Writer

LINCOLN, Ala. (Oct. 25, 2026) – Austin Hill has made it clear over the past few months that his journey to the NASCAR Cup Series hasn’t happened the way he wanted. Replacing legend Kyle Busch, who tragically died in May, hasn’t been easy either. 

However, the 32-year-old has accepted the reality ahead of him. He has reached the top of Richard Childress Racing and will continue at the Cup Series level in 2027.

The veteran racer understands he has the opportunity to take a tragic situation and turn it into a career springboard, but also cement the immediate future for RCR following the Busch era. 

Hill delivered a glimpse of that potential Saturday at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, qualifying second ahead of the YellaWood 500. He captured his first career Cup Series front-row start, missing the pole by 0.32 seconds.

His 51.498-second lap (185.949 mph) lines his No. 33 Chevrolet up alongside Chase Briscoe.   

“This season has been a lot of rollercoasters. Being tasked with doing the Cup side has thrown a curveball,” said Hill Saturday during a pre-qualifying media availability. “Going back and forth between [Cup and the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series] is not the easiest thing to do, especially the [difference in how] both series of cars drive. We've been doing an okay job with it.”

Since Busch’s passing in late May, Hill has split time between competing in Cup and still pursuing the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series driver’s championship. In stock car racing’s second tier, he entered the postseason seeded fourth, but has fallen to ninth, eliminating him from mathematical contention.  

“We've just had [problems],” said Hill. “Whether it's been my doing, like [at Phoenix] speeding on pit road, or having right front tires go down, with loose wheels at Gateway.” 

Hill’s average finish in the O’Reilly Series postseason fell to 18.6 after a cut tire in Saturday’s race at Talladega anchored him to 35th, two laps down. 

But while not overlooking his duties on Saturdays, the Cup side will take priority in his life following the conclusion of the 2026 season on Nov. 8. Hill said Saturday he’s learned a lot through 21 weeks.

Notably, the Next-Gen Cup cars are becoming slightly easier for Hill to drive. He admitted they are still a work in progress, but the transition has become eye-opening. 

Hill said this offseason he will spend the winter deep diving into car aerodynamics and restarts, by studying the effect of dirty air to set up his 2027 season.

“The dirty air is a lot different in these cars than the O'Reilly car. It's easier when I go run the O'Reilly car having worked on the dirty air [factor],” said Hill. “That’s something that I've gotten a little bit better at, but it's still something that I'm going to have to work on. Restarts are a premium in the Cup car.”

Since replacing Busch, Hill has two top 20s and five finishes inside the top 25. His best performance came on Aug. 29 at Daytona (Fla.) Int’l Speedway, where he led 27 laps – the most out of anyone that night. 

His numbers aren’t impressive statistically, but when not running for points, gaining experience by completing laps is the goal. Hill hasn’t been involved in an accident since July. 

While taking small steps on track, sponsorship has also taken root for his Cup efforts. Longtime O’Reilly Series supporters in Bennett Transportation and United Rentals announced multi-race Cup sponsorship deals, on Oct. 14 and Oct. 20, respectively.

The Winston, Ga., native has Martinsville (Va.) Speedway and Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway left in his full-time RCR O’Reilly Series career before making the transition.

In five seasons he has 16 wins, 59 top fives, and 1,453 laps led. He is the all-time leader in drafting track wins at the second-tier with 11. Roughly 68 percent of his wins have come in the draft. He also has 17 road course top fives. 

One of the benefits of becoming a Cup regular is running in selected lower series races, something Hill hopes to be able to continue doing in 2027. 

Hill wants to compete in the O’Reilly Series on superspeedways and road courses, the disciplines where he’s had his greatest success. Pending sponsorship, Hill pointed to the Daytona season opener on Feb. 20, to chase winning the event for the fifth time in six years.

He also wants to compete at his home race at EchoPark Speedway in Hampton, Ga., if possible as well.

“I don't know if I'm going to be able to run with sponsorship and such, but I do want to run next year. I'd love to run the Daytona to try to go for five wins,” said Hill. “Atlanta is my home track, I'd love to run,” said Hill. “I'd like to throw in some road course races. Those are my two track types that I'd love to run next year.”

Racing in the draft is something that he’s grown to love. It’s become his signature, as it’s already stood out in limited experience at the Cup level. 

But, as the sun sets on 2026 in two weeks, the page will turn to his next chapter. Hill will become a Cup driver on Sundays, looking to pick up what the late Kyle Busch was trying to do in revitalizing RCR. 

That effort continues Sunday afternoon at Talladega and into 2027. 

“It's been an experience going back and forth between the two. I didn't want to have this opportunity in the Cup car this way, but this is where we are,” said Hill. 

“You know, this is what life is now and I’m trying to make the most of it.”

Coverage of the YellaWood 500 from Talladega is slated for Sunday, Oct. 25 at 2 p.m. ET on NBC, the Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.