Austin Hill wins rain-shortened Trucks race at Watkins Glen

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (AP) >> Pole-sitter Austin Hill won the NASCAR Truck Series race at Watkins Glen International on Saturday, taking the victory when lightning struck nearby and rain halted the race with 11 laps to go.

Hill held off John Hunter Nemechek on a restart with 15 laps left as thunderstorms neared, with Sheldon Creed, Todd Gilliland and Parker Kligerman in close pursuit. The race was redflagged because of a lightning strike and with an Xfinity Series race on deck.

It was Hill’s second win of the season and eighth of his career. Nemechek was second, followed by Creed, Gilliland and Kligerman.

“Finally, we had a race where the truck does everything that we needed it to do,” Hill said. “I was really biting my nails a little bit when the rains came. It’s really

special to get a win at Watkins Glen.”

It was the final event of the regular season for the Truck Series and the 10-driver field was set for the playoffs. It is, in order of seeding, Nemechek, Hill, Ben Rhodes, Gilliland, Creed, Zane Smith, Matt Crafton, Carson Hocevar, Stewart Friesen and Chandler Smith.

Nemechek had already clinched the regular-season championship in his first season driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports. He has five victories among his nine top-five finishes and 12 top-10s and entered the race with 49 playoff points, more than double that of any other driver.

“It means a lot,” Nemechek said. “The team’s been working hard. I feel like having those (points) we have a big cushion.”

The playoffs start Aug. 20 at Gateway in St. Louis.