“Our Realtree/Bennett Transportation and Logistics Chevrolet was super fast all day. With claiming the pole during qualifying, winning Stage 1, finishing second in Stage 2, and having a solid points day, it slightly softens the blow of the finish. After watching the replay for the first time, I had a big run on the No. 19, got to his right rear quarter, and he cleared up. I’m not sure if he thought he was clear, but he came up and we hooked him in the right rear quarter and into the fence. When he came up, the No. 16 behind me turned left and the whole wreck happened. I think the No. 16 just got really loose there. Before that restart, I was thinking in my head of what I wanted to do. I knew I wanted to stay loyal to my Chevrolet teammates and make sure a bowtie got in Victory Lane. I thought about doing what I did and catching the No. 19 off guard, or waiting until Turn 1 or down the backstretch. Both of those options of waiting would have been hard until we were coming to the white flag, which could have been too late. That’s superspeedway racing for you though. I hate we destroyed a really fast race car, but we continued to show that our superspeedway program at Richard Childress Racing is top notch.” -Austin Hill |