Austin Dillon Wins at Richmond with Controversy

Just another Saturday- or I should say in this case, Sunday Night of short track racing, right? Well, sparks certainly flew at the conclusion of the Cook Out 400 at Richmond, as Austin Dillon, who had not won since August 2022 at Daytona, punched his ticket to the playoffs with the win. 

Dillon had a fast car all throughout the weekend and was in contention the entire race. He entered Richmond being 32^nd in the points, having a season so far to forget. Dillon, the 2018 Daytona 500 Champion, had taken the lead from Denny Hamlin late in the race and looked like it was smooth sailing until a caution came out, leading to an overtime restart. The caution was for Ryan Preece and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. wrecking. 

On the overtime restart, Dillon didn’t get the restart he had hoped for, leading to Joey Logano taking the lead, who restarted beside Dillon. Logano jumped out to the lead, but on the final lap, Dillon, in a last-ditch effort, sent his No. 3 Chevrolet into turn three and got into the back of Logano’s No. 22 Ford, turning Logano. Then Denny Hamlin looked like he was going to steal the win when he and Dillon got together, sending Hamlin into the frontstretch wall and Dillon would take the checkered flag. 

After the smoke cleared, Dillon talked about what had just happened. He reminded to reporters that this was short-track-style racing and that he’s seen both Logano and Hamlin make similarly aggressive moves to win the race. 

“I don’t know man, it’s been two years, and this is the first car I’ve had a shot to win with,” Dillon said in his post-race interview.

“I felt like with two to go, we were the fastest car. Obviously, we had to have a straightaway. Wrecked the guy. I hate to do that, but sometimes you just got to do it.”

“I got to thank the good Lord above. It’s been tough for the last two years man. I care about RCR, these fans, and my wife. This is my first [win] for my baby girl. It means a lot. I hate it, but I had to do it.”

“When given that shot, you’ve got to take it,” Dillon added.

This win marks the 5^th win of his Cup Series career and his first win in 68 races, as 2024 has been the year of winless streaks being snapped. Dillon drives for his grandfather, Richard Childress, who said of the finish, “He knew what he had to do and they (Logano and Hamlin) would have done it to him.”

“It was chicken s*** — there’s no doubt about it,” the two-time series champion Logano said of Dillon’s move. “He was four car-lengths back, not even close. Then he wrecks the 11 [Hamlin] to go along with it.”

“I mean I get it, bump and run,” Logano continued, “I’ve done that, but he just drove through me, it’s ridiculous.”

Denny Hamlin, no surprise, was just as frustrated.

“There are no penalties for rough driving so it opens up the opportunity for Austin to just do whatever he wants,” said Hamlin, who ended up with a second-place finish.

“I got hooked in the right rear again. I was just minding my own business and he hooked me in the right rear and put me in the fence. I don’t know. The record book won’t care about what happened. He’s going to be credited with a win but obviously he’s not going to go far [in the playoffs] because you got to pay your dues back on stuff like that.”

“But it was worth it because he jumped 20 positions in points, I understand that and there’s no ill will there, but I just hate that I was a part of it. … I understand it but I don’t agree with it.”

Hamlin’s two 23XI Racing drivers of Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace finished third and fourth, while Ross Chastain finished fifth in a much-needed solid result. Despite the solid result, the playoffs changed dramatically thanks to the Austin Dillon win. 

Bubba Wallace now has a 3-point advantage on Ross Chastain and Chris Buescher for the final spot in the 16-driver playoffs. Martin Truex Jr had a 108-point advantage going into the race, but exited the race early due to engine troubles, leading to that comfort going away. He now is only 78 points above the cutline with three spots still open. 

Christopher Bell, who won stage 1, finished sixth, followed by Kyle Larson, Carson Hocevar, Chase Elliott and Daniel Suarez to complete the top 10. 

Speaking of Suarez, his team took advantage of the new option tires that were introduced for this race. He would end up at one point going from 15^th to the lead and would stay out in front to win stage two.  The option tire offered whole new strategies and it made for a fun, interesting, and exciting race. This Richmond race, taking the finish out the equation for a moment, was fun to watch. 

The option tire worked exactly as it was intended,” said Goodyear’s Director of Racing Greg Stucker. “They fired off immediately and were more than a half-second faster than the prime, which is big on a short track. Also, the options gave up significantly more than the primes over a long run, as intended.”

“What was really exciting was how different teams used the option tire at different times to accomplish their own goals,” he added.

The NASCAR Cup Series heads next to Michigan International Speedway for a 2:30 pm EST green flag next Sunday, as the playoffs inch closer and closer.