What happened
On Lap 14 at Martinsville, Austin Hill locked the front tires on his No. 21 and fell to 29th. He had been running 22nd in the National Debt Relief 250 before the braking mistake.
Hill continued to drop through the field, reaching 36th on Lap 20. On Lap 22, he was last with a flat right-front tire, and race leader Carson Kvapil had put him a lap down.
Hill headed to pit road under green, where his crew repaired the damage while the leaders continued circulating. He remained in his stall at Lap 25 as the crew examined the shredded right-front tire, then returned to the race on Lap 29, eight laps down. He finished 31st after completing 241 of the scheduled 250 laps, nine laps behind.
What it cost
The lockup cost Hill seven positions, from 22nd to 29th.
What could have been done differently
Hill should have reduced brake pressure when the fronts locked and backed up his braking point on the next approach. Before the weekend, he had emphasized fast corner entry while also stressing the need to get back to the throttle on exit. Hill also said Martinsville winners usually paired strong entry and exit speeds with slower speed through the middle of the corner, making center speed the part of the lap to sacrifice. His priority needed to be a controlled entry that preserved that exit, accepting a lower entry speed to keep the front tires rolling.