Born in
Midland, Texas, Hillin grew up watching his father's racing team, Longhorn Racing, compete in
United States Auto Club-sanctioned
sprint and
Indy car racing events. he began his stock car career at the age of thirteen and soon after won the track championship at Odessa Speedbowl in
Odessa, Texas, and attended the Buck Baker Driving School at the age of sixteen. Hillin made his debut in NASCAR Winston Cup Series competition at the age of seventeen, driving a car owned and sponsored by his family and crewed by
Harry Hyde in the 1982
Northwestern Bank 400 at
North Wilkesboro Speedway to a 21st-place finish. Hillin moved to North Carolina to further his career, continuing his education through correspondence courses; he graduated from high school the day before the 1983 Coca-Cola World 600; Despite the win, and two wins in the NASCAR Busch Series in 1988 and 1989 driving for Highline Racing, Hillin's career took a downturn; he would later say he was not mature enough to deal with the pressures of being a NASCAR winner. A seventh-place finish in the 500 won Hillin the team's regular ride, however after ten races a lack of sponsorship forced the team to cut back its schedule, and Hillin was released; After two races with
Jimmy Means Racing, Hillin was named as substitute driver for
Kyle Petty, who had broken his leg earlier in the year in a wreck at
Talladega; he drove eight races in the
Team SABCO No. 42 before Petty returned. Hillin then joined
Team Ireland late in the 1991 season, and then for a partial season in 1992. When the team closed late in 1992 after being disqualified at the October Charlotte race, Hillin moved to
Donlavey Racing, running the full 1993 season for the team. After three races in 1994, Hillin resigned from the team; Hillin ran a partial schedule the rest of the year for
Charles Hardy Racing and Moroso Racing, then attempted two races early in 1995 for Moroso, before joining
Jasper Motorsports twelve races into the
1995 season, replacing
Davy Jones. Hillin remained with the team through 1996 and into 1997. Hillin also competed in the
Suzuka Thunder Special, an exhibition race held at
Suzuka Circuit in Japan following the 1996 season; he finished seventh in the event. He was released from the team after failing to qualify for the 1997 Coca-Cola 600; he continued to drive for the team through the Pocono 500 before being replaced by
Morgan Shepherd. Later that year Hillin attempted three races for
Triad Motorsports, failing to qualify for any; he would only drive one further Winston Cup race in his career, at
Bristol Motor Speedway in 2000 for
Melling Racing, substituting for an injured
Stacy Compton. Hillin restarted his own Busch Series team for the
1998 season, including five
Major League Baseball players in the team's ownership; the team underperformed, and after the 2000 season he chose to go into semi-retirement, having decided to go into business in his native Texas. In 2008, Hillin returned briefly to competition, driving at
Kansas Speedway in the Nationwide Series for
MacDonald Motorsports; he drove one additional race for the team in the series at
Texas Motor Speedway in 2009, but then retired for good from the sport. ==Personal life==