CUP: Timmy Hill Trails Field In Sprint Showdown Debut

SOURCE: Debbie Ross, Skirts and Scuffs

Timmy Hill finished last in Saturday’s running of the Sprint Showdown at the Charlotte Motor Speedway when his #32 OXY Water Ford fell out with overheating trouble after he completed 6 of the race’s 40 laps.

The 20-year-old Hill has made ten starts in Cup Series points races, including five this year.  All of his starts in 2013 have come behind the wheel of the #32 fielded by FAS Lane Racing.  FAS Lane was founded by the reorganized Latitude 43 Motorsports in 2011, forming a new team both owned and crew chiefed by Frank “Frankie” Stoddard.

Hill’s 2013 debut at Fontana in March was marred by a sudden loss of fluid exiting turn two, causing several of the leaders to slip into the outside wall.  Since then, Hill has still neverfinish last, but has finished no better than 33rd.  He is still looking to improve on his career-best 22nd he earned at Kansas last fall.

Hill qualified 20th for Saturday’s 23-car race at an average speed of 185.861 mph.  He fell out during the first 20-lap segment, followed nine laps later by the #44 No Label Watches Ford of Scott Riggs.  Riggs was making his first Cup start of any kind since Martinsville, and rumors of Xxtreme Motorsports replacing Riggs with Mike Bliss for the moment appear to be untrue.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was Hill’s first last-place finish in the Sprint Showdown.  He was the first driver to finish last in his Showdown debut since 2008, when open-wheel star Patrick Carpentier crashed his #10 Valvoline Dodge after two laps.
*This was the first time a last-place finisher in the Showdown fell out with “overheating” as the listed cause.
*This was the first last-place finish in the Showdown for car #32.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
23) #32-Timmy Hill / 6 laps / overheating
22) #44-Scott Riggs / 15 laps / vibration
21) #7-Dave Blaney / 24 laps / brakes
20) #36-J.J. Yeley / 27 laps / overheating
19) #52-Brian Keselowski / 36 laps / running