​The NASCAR Cup Series is headed to a track where Austin Hill has long found success. Hill, a 16-time winner in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, has claimed five victories at EchoPark Speedway, formerly known as Atlanta Motor Speedway. This Sunday’s Quaker State 400 will mark Hill’s 10th Cup Series start of the season and the eighth since stepping in as the replacement driver for the late Kyle Busch. Hill is chasing his first Cup Series win in his 25th start.
Heading into Atlanta at odds of +4500, Hill faces long odds, but an upset Sunday would be more than just a personal triumph for him and Richard Childress Racing. It would be remembered as an all-time NASCAR moment. The sport’s history is filled with pivotal moments, including the 2001 Daytona 500, when seven-time Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt lost his life in a last-lap crash. Earnhardt piloted the iconic No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, and after his passing, Kevin Harvick took over as the replacement driver. In Harvick’s third career start—matching Earnhardt’s own number of Cup Series starts in that car—he earned his first Cup Series victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Fast forward to 2026: on May 21, two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch unexpectedly passed away after a battle with pneumonia that progressed to sepsis. Like Earnhardt before him, Busch raced for RCR and left a lasting mark on the sport. Hill became Busch’s replacement driver, making his first start in the Coca-Cola 600. Now the Cup Series returns to Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hill’s home track, for what will be the eighth race since Busch’s passing—the same number of races as the one driven by Busch in RCR’s Chevrolet.
The parallels feel almost uncanny: two NASCAR icons, the same team, the same track, and the same number of races since their passing. If Hill were to win this Sunday night, it would be a storybook ending that NASCAR and RCR could treasure for years. While a victory for Hill might be a long shot, it isn’t out of the question. In the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, Hill has proven to be a dominant force on drafting tracks. While behind the wheel of the No. 21 RCR Chevrolet, 11 of his 16 career wins have come on drafting tracks, with five of those at Atlanta Motor Speedway. If there is a track where Hill could clinch his first Cup Series victory, Atlanta stands out as an excellent candidate.
Beyond the potential payoff for Hill personally, a win could influence his future with the No. 33 in 2027, as no official announcement has been made yet about who will drive that seat next season. It’s important to note that Cup Series drafting dynamics differ from those of the NOAPS, but there’s a reasonable expectation that Hill could translate some of his drafting prowess from the O’Reilly side to the Cup Series.
In any case, this race at Atlanta is shaping up to be more than just another Sunday afternoon. It is a chance for Hill to etch his name in the sport’s lore, to honor the memory of Busch, and to deliver a moment that would resonate with fans across NASCAR. Whether Hill can pull off the upset remains to be seen, but the storyline alone makes this an event to watch closely.