The streets of San Diego transformed into a high‑stakes battleground for the NASCAR O'Reilly 500, where Austin Hill captured his 16th career victory in the series and, crucially, his first on a road course.
The race opened with a metal cover detaching from a car and striking Corey Day’s machine, prompting an early red‑flag period during which crews worked to replace a destroyed radiator.
Stage one concluded with Hill crossing the line ahead of a pack that included Parker Retzlaff, Austin Green, Harrison Burton and others, while Taylor Gray finished second and Sheldon Creed took third.
Stage two saw Gray seize the lead, only for a flurry of spins — including those by Sammy Smith and Thompson — to shuffle the order before Parker Retzlaff reclaimed the lead during a restart.
A chaotic final stage
As the final stage unfolded, teams elected to pit under green with roughly twenty laps remaining, a decision that reshuffled the running order and set the stage for a dramatic finish.
With three laps left, Gray attempted a move on Carson Kvapil, only to wheel‑hop into the side of the JRM driver, sending both into a spin. Hill, capitalizing on the chaos, slipped past Gray on the white‑flag lap to claim victory.
Hill celebrated by burning the tires in a burnout that traced the black No. 8 painted on the track in tribute to the late Kyle Busch, before being towed back to Victory Lane.
The conclusion was marred by a fan who sprinted onto the circuit, exchanged words with Sheldon Creed, and was later arrested after scaling the fence, while multiple incidents forced lengthy wall repairs.