Austin Dillon Wins the Coke Zero 400, Advances to the Playoffs, MTJ OUT

In a wild race that was delayed from Saturday evening to Sunday morning due to weather, had big wrecks, a three-hour lightning delay, and a 20-lap dash for a new winner to pave the way, it was a race to remember in the 2022 Coke Zero Sugar 400. Austin Dillon, who won the 2018 Daytona 500, was able to be the first one to clear from the smoke, sparks, and wrecks, as he grabbed his fourth career Cup Series win and his first since the summer of 2020 at Texas. The playoff cutline came down to a matter of single-digit points between Martin Truex Jr and Ryan Blaney. Both drivers, who suffered from wrecks in the race, were able to finish, as they had run top five in points for most of the season.

Dillon was able to take the lead around 20 laps to go when a massive wreck took out what felt like almost the entire field when he was able to maneuver through the carnage. Dillon remained in “race mode” during the 3 hours, 19 minutes, 57 seconds red flag. When the race restarted, Dillion settled behind the 2022 Daytona 500 Winner, Austin Cindric, until making a race-winning move on lap 158. Cindric was able to fight back as he lost control from contact with Dillion’s No. 3 Chevrolet, finishing third.

“There was a lot going on there,” Dillon said after the race. “I knew that if we got to the white (final lap), I was afraid somebody would- if I waited too long, I was afraid somebody would wreck behind us, so I wanted to go ahead and get the lead. We were able to get it.”

“I had a big run to him, and then I had my teammate, the 8 (Tyler Reddick), back there. I knew we were in good shape there to the end. He did a good job checking up any kind of run. Just a little too much push there and got him (Austin Cindric) loose.”

Austin Cindric voiced his thoughts on what happened at the end of the race, calling the bump fair game, since there was a lot on the line for Austin Dillon to make the playoffs. Not to mention when Cindric was leading, he didn’t have many Ford teammates nearby, trailing four Chevrolets.

“I got hit by another race car going 190, 200 miles an hour. I’m glad I saved it and glad I had a shot to come back through the field,” Cindric said in his post-race interview. “He is racing for a playoff spot and I totally expected to get drove through.

“It was just a matter of time. I’m pretty bummed. We had a shot to win today. We put ourselves in position. Not a scratch on it. Dang it.”

Thanks to Dillon’s win, this caused another new winner and helped Ryan Blaney advance to the playoffs, when he was behind Martin Truex Jr during the red flag. Martin Truex Jr, who finished fourth in the regular season standings, missed the cut to make the playoffs. While Truex had great performances all season, all he was missing was a win.

“It sucks, there’s no way of sugarcoating it,” Truex said. “You race your ass off all year, try hard and try to do all the things it takes, and come up three points short is pretty tough to swallow when I know we could do something in the playoffs.”

What led to the red flag was on lap 138, when the pack of cars went into turn one and suddenly began to rain hard, causing the leaders of Denny Hamlin, Justin Haley, and Daniel Hemric to lose control as they lost grip and causing a wild wreck that left most of the field with some sort of damage.

This wreck also led to feel-good stories for smaller teams like Landon Cassill with Spire Motorsports (4th), Noah Gragson with Beard Motorsports (5th), Cody Ware for Rick Ware Racing (6th), B.J. McLeod for his own team Livefast Motorsports (7th), and David Ragan, who won this race in 2011, driving for Rick Ware Racing (9th). Especially for Rick Ware Racing, this race marked the first time the team had both of their cars finish inside the top 10.

The Playoff Field is officially set for the 16 drivers and the 10-race run to the Championship that begins next weekend at Darlington Raceway. Here are the 16 drivers:

Chase Elliott (Regular Season Champion)

Joey Logano

Ross Chastain

Kyle Larson

William Byron

Denny Hamlin

Ryan Blaney

Tyler Reddick

Kevin Harvick

Christopher Bell

Kyle Busch

Chase Briscoe

Daniel Suarez

Austin Cindric

Alex Bowman

Austin Dillon

Kurt Busch, who won at Kansas earlier this season, waived his playoff waiver due to his current injury and will not be able to get back in the car in time for the playoffs. The NASCAR Cup Series playoffs begin at Darlington Raceway on Sunday, September 4th at 6 PM EST on USA/MRN, for the Cookout Southern 500.