Underdog NASCAR driver Timmy Hill earns top ten finish…

Timmy Hill has been racing at the national level of NASCAR since 2011, and he's always been a driver who tries to do a lot with very little resources.

Since then, he has started 143 Cup, 243 Xfinity, and 117 Truck races. He currently competes as a driver/owner with Hill Motorsports, a race team that consists of the following full-time employees: Terry Elmore (crew chief), 'Big Jim' Marks, and Hill himself.

Scaling back

Timmy Hill, Timmy Hill Motorsports Toyota (Photo by: James Gilbert / Getty Images)

The team ran full-time in the Truck Series last year, but in 2025, they had to run a limited schedule.

"This year was a year where we had to take a step back," explained Hill in a media scrum after Saturday's Truck race. "We went from a full-time schedule to part-time. There were several reasons: Sponsorship, my family, my guys -- we're a very small team. We only got two guys that work with me in the shop with Terry and Big Jim. The three of us just knock it out ... This little team that we have -- they've done a tremendous job."

An impressive performance

Darlington was Hill's sixth appearance this year and after starting 23rd, he quickly moved through the pack. He was 13th by the end of Stage 1, and 12th by the end of Stage 2.

On the final restart, he was scored in 16th, and Hill quickly marched forward, claiming eighth place for his best finish since Daytona in February of 2024. It's also the tenth top ten of his NASCAR Truck Series career.

"I felt like on the second half of runs, we were just as good as anybody," noted Hill, who passed Corey Day for P8 right at the finish line. "I felt like we really earned this one. I don't think we lucked into it. We drove there all day long."

These days, the team attempts to pick tracks where Hill knows he can perform, and Darlington is one of those places. He has three top tens at the iconic venue, and Hill loves "these challenging, tough tracks." He also found long green-flag runs with a lot of tire falloff to be a strength for him and the No. 56 team.

The search for more partners

Timmy Hill spins during Watkins Glen race (Photo by: Sean Gardner / Getty Images)

As Hill looks to the future, Motorsport.com's Matt Weaver asked him how he can package a strong showing like this and sell it to potential partners.

"Basically, we got to find companies that are interested in NASCAR," began Hill. "Most of the time, it's hard because it's attractive to go to the bigger teams. They have a lot more luxurious items that they can provide. But for us, we can give them a little bit of a spotlight if we do a good job, and I feel like we do every time we come to Darlington. We can take our results and pitch them to sponsors. As far as parlaying this into more opportunities in the future, we just try and sell ourselves. We try to sell ourselves as a contender. Even though we're small, we can a lot from it and hopefully, these results speak for themselves."

Hill's weekend is not over, either. He will also compete in the 76th running of the Southern 500 on Sunday, starting 38th in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff opener. It will be his first Cup race of the 2025 season and his fourth start in the crown jewel event.