Austin hill to drive No. 33 car for full 2027 cup series season

Here is the news that matters: Austin Hill is officially locked in for a full-time campaign in the NASCAR Cup Series for the 2027 season, piloting the No. 33 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. The announcement dropped on Monday, setting the stage for a massive career leap.

Since Memorial Day Weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Hill has been handling the No. 33 machine. He stepped into the ride following the death of Kyle Busch on May 21, with the team making the deliberate switch from No. 8 to No. 33 to honor and preserve the Busch legacy.

"I'm extremely thankful to Richard and everyone at RCR for believing in me and giving me this opportunity," Hill said in a press release. "Every race car driver dreams of competing full time in the NASCAR Cup Series, and to have that opportunity with RCR is something I don't take for granted. I've learned so much this year about what it takes to compete at this level, and I'm excited to take everything I've learned during my time at RCR and apply it to this next chapter. I want to do everything I can to help this organization continue moving forward. I'm excited for what's ahead and ready to get to work."

Hill brings serious credentials to the table as a 16-time winner in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. He has raced full time in that series since 2022 aboard RCR’s No. 21 car, bagging two or more victories in every single year of competition. While he will finish out the remainder of the 2026 campaign juggling both Cup and O’Reilly duties, 2027 marks his permanent departure from the O’Reilly Series for his first full-time Cup venture.

Looking at his Cup resume, the 32-year-old Georgia native boasts 30 starts under his belt. His personal best finish at this level remains a ninth-place run at the Chicago Street Course in 2025. Before this year, he had accumulated 15 Cup starts, alongside a pair of part-time outings at Phoenix Raceway and Martinsville Speedway. The 13 races he has contested since Busch’s passing mark the longest consecutive stretch of Cup races he has ever run, highlighted by a season-best 18th-place finish at Pocono Raceway on June 14.