Restarting on the Point … By the time the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series restarts on Tuesday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway (CMS), it will have been 94 days since Austin Hill claimed the points lead at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (LVMS) back in February. The driver of the No. 16 United Rentals Toyota Tundra will restart the season with a nine-point advantage in the championship standings, thanks in large part to posting top-10 finishes in both races contested this season. Hill began the 2020 season by leading 11 laps en route to a sixth-place finish at Daytona International Speedway. He followed that up with a podium run at LVMS when he finished third and has collected points in three of the four stages thus far.
Honoring Those Who Serve … Hill and the No. 16 team will honor Armed Forces members and United Rentals’ veteran and reserve military employees with a special American-flag themed paint scheme at CMS. United Rentals has been a longtime supporter of military veterans and is nationally recognized by ranking seventh on the G.I. Jobs list of the Top 100 military friendly employers. The paint scheme is a commemoration of the service and sacrifices made by those who have served and continue to serve.
Charlotte History … The Winston, GA native will pull double duty at CMS by making his third NXS start of the year in the No. 61 AISIN Group, AISIN AW Supra on Monday. Hill has three previous Gander Truck starts at “America’s Home for Racing” and scored his track-best finish of sixth at CMS last May. Dating back to last June at Chicagoland Speedway, Hill has four top-five finishes in the last five Gander Trucks races at 1.5-mile venues.
Chassis Selection … The truck with the highest winning percentage in HRE’s fleet will return to the track on Tuesday night. Hill drove chassis No. 010 to victory lane in its first three appearances last season and will look to make it four-for-five at CMS. Crew chief Scott Zipadelli and the No. 16 team built this Toyota Tundra midway through the 2019 season and have earned top-five finishes in all four of its starts. Hill wheeled this United Rentals Tundra to a third-place finish at LVMS in its first outing of 2020.
Frontline Hero … HRE will recognize some of “The Real Heroes” in upcoming events by running names of frontline workers over the door in thanks for their contributions. Hill will carry Samantha Greene from Belleville, IL on board over the driver’s side door on Tuesday night. Greene is being honored as a Star of Life for her distinguished career that includes more than 30 saves. With Abbot EMS, she serves as an outstanding Paramedic Field Training Officer, taking some of the most difficult situations and turning them into positive learning experiences. She is also a passionate advocate supporting mental health initiatives for EMS employees who face a higher risk of suicide than the general population. Greene has been with Abbot for 12 years advancing from EMT to paramedic to crew leader and then supervisor.
Tune In … FOX Sports 1 will have live coverage of the Gander Trucks return on Tuesday, May 26th at 8:00 p.m. ET. Stay updated with Hill and the No. 16 team by following @Hattori_Racing on Twitter, Hattori Racing Enterprises on Facebook, and @hattoriracing on Instagram.
Austin Hill Quote:On resuming the season at Charlotte in the points lead:“It’s going to be a big week for our group with double duty in the Xfinity car and truck. The red, white, and blue scheme looks awesome and it’s great to have a group like United Rentals that supports our military and veterans like they do. We would like to get ourselves a win in the first race back and give all the veteran and reserve military United Rentals employees something to get excited about. With no practice or qualifying, it’s definitely going to a help to run the Xfinity race on Monday and have 200 laps under our belt before the truck race. Hopefully, we can get a good idea on what direction the track goes and knock off the rust. I know all of us are ready for our chance to get racing again and build on our point lead.”
HRE PR
