By Cameron Bebeau. Staff Writer

CORONADO, Calif. – If the United Rentals Driven to Serve 250 lacked one thing, it was rhythm.

Between a manhole cover lodging itself into Corey Day’s radiator in the opening laps, a 25-car incident on Lap 36 and late contact for the lead between Taylor Gray and Carson Kvapil, the inaugural NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Naval Base Coronado rarely had time to settle.

Austin Hill stayed close enough to take advantage.

Hill took the lead on the final lap and won the 60-lap event on the San Diego Street Course, earning his second victory of the season and the 16th of his O’Reilly Auto Parts Series career. The Richard Childress Racing driver crossed the finish line 1.127 seconds ahead of Gray.

“It’s extremely special, just to finally check that box of getting that road course win,” Hill said. “We’ve been close so many times.”

Hill said the closing laps became emotional as he looked for extra speed, pointing to the No. 8 on his hat, the number the late Kyle Busch drove for RCR.

“I started talking to this guy a little bit down the straightaways,” Hill said. “I was like, ‘Man, Kyle, if you’re here, give me something, let me find another gear.'”

Sheldon Creed finished third, followed by Kvapil and Sammy Smith.

The race’s first disruption came almost immediately. Day ran over a manhole cover that lodged itself into his radiator, bringing out the caution for oil on the track. NASCAR later stopped the field under red on Lap 6 for track repairs, creating an 18-minute, 34-second delay before the opening stage had much of a chance to develop under green.

Brent Crews started from the pole and was credited with leading the first 11 laps, but much of that stretch came during the stoppage. Once the race resumed, Hill moved to the lead on Lap 12 and stayed there through Lap 23, winning Stage 1 in the process.

The second stage continued to produce interruptions, as Lavar Scott stalled on track to bring out a caution on Lap 24. Gray later cycled to the lead before winning the stage. Parker Retzlaff and Anthony Alfredo, Viking Motorsports teammates, raced in the top five for most of the stage, with both drivers earning stage points in the first two stages.

The final stage brought the race’s biggest incident.

On Lap 34, the No. 17 and No. 26 of Corey Day and Dean Thompson were involved in an incident in Turn 5. The ensuing restart created a much larger problem in Turn 2, where Sam Mayer hit the inside wall and was launched across the track into the outside wall, collecting several cars and damaging the barrier.

NASCAR officially listed 25 cars as being involved. The crash brought out the second red flag of the event, stopping the race for 43 minutes while crews tended to the damaged wall. 

The stoppage also produced one of the stranger moments of the event, as a fan climbed the fence during the red flag and briefly spoke with Sheldon Creed before the race resumed.

Even after the crash was cleaned up, the course still needed attention, and NASCAR called a caution on Lap 42 for track repairs involving a tire bundle.

Kvapil was the driver in control once the race reached its closing stretch. He took the lead on Lap 47 and held it through Lap 57, putting himself in position to earn his first career NORAPS victory.

That changed with three laps remaining. Contact between Kvapil and Gray sent Kvapil spinning into the wall, while Gray continued on with the lead. Hill caught Gray and moved him early on the final lap, securing the win for RCR.

“For whatever reason, the car started coming to life and the two leaders got together,” Hill said. “When there was blood in the water behind the 54, I knew it was going to be tough to get around him, that it was going to be a battle.”

“I can’t thank these guys enough, everyone on this 21 team, at RCR,” Hill said. “We’ve been through a lot these last several weeks. Man, this is awesome, so cool.”

Jesse Love finished sixth after starting 37th, completing one of the strongest drives through the field. Parker Retzlaff finished seventh after starting on the front row and led five laps, followed by Austin Green, Harrison Burton and Day, who recovered from the early manhole cover issue to finish 10th.

Several of the early contenders were not around at the finish. Crews, who started from the pole, exited with an engine issue and finished 31st. Justin Allgaier also suffered an engine failure and finished 32nd, while Sam Mayer, Anthony Alfredo and William Sawalich were listed out after accidents.

Even with the engine issue, Allgaier left Coronado with a 224-point lead over Love in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series standings.

The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series returns June 27 at Sonoma Raceway.

Photo by Jerry Jordan/Kickin’ the Tires