Austin Dillon breaks 68 race winless streak at Richmond Raceway

 

PHOTO: Carol D'Agostino for Skirts and Scuffs

Long green runs and pit strategy are standard traits of Richmond Raceway racing. On Sunday, the NASCAR Cup Series added another nuance at Richmond's Cook Out 400 – a softer tire option and the ability for teams to switch between the prime and option tires at will.

Pre-race there was no clear indication from teams whether they thought this new feature would play a dramatic role in how the race played out. The speculation was that teams would save at least one of their sets of option tires for Stage 3.

But as the laps clicked off, the race progressed like the quintessential short-track race – a late caution with two laps to go and a chaotic restart with door to door racing, ending with a bump and run that took out both the contender for the lead and the favorite coming into the race.

The only thing missing was a fight on pit road, although there were plenty of angry words spoken during post-race interviews. When the dust cleared, the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet of Austin Dillon drove into Victory Lane – with option tires. The win broke Dillon’s 68 winless streak.

It was Dillon’s fifth Cup Series career win and his first at Richmond Raceway. The victory punched Dillon’s ticket to the postseason. Going into the race, Dillon was 32nd in the driver’s standings.

The win was emotional for Dillon. “With 80 laps it was very hard for me to not get emotional in the race car. It's been rough the last two years. For me to see the front and race with two of the best guys in the sport and prove that I can do it when given the opportunity, it was hard for me not to get upset in the car. I had to keep my sh** together to tell you the truth. This stuff ain't easy," Dillon said.

Dillon has had a strong car all weekend, and started sixth on the grid. He raced toward the front during the majority of the race. With 35 laps to go Dillon was closing in on Joey Logano, one of the hardest drivers to pass. Fourteen laps later when Denny Hamlin was the leader, Dillon went door to door with Hamlin, and finally passed him.

With just two laps to go the caution came out when the No. 41 of Ryan Preece spun the No. 47 of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. At the restart Joey Logano took the lead, but in the final corner Dillon moved the No. 22 of Joey Logano and also made contact with the No. 11 of Denny Hamlin as Hamlin tried to sneak past for the win.

“This was definitely one of the wildest wins of my career,” said Dillon. “I was just trying to get to him (Logano). I went into turn three in fifth gear, and drove in. I tried to get him loose, and up the track. I got the car downshifted, and the car actually turned pretty good when I did that. When I was coming back left, the 11 was coming. I wasn't lifting at that point because I was more looking at where the 22 was. When the 11 came across, it was just reaction,” Dillon said.

Post race there was a lot of conversation about whether the winning move was dirty or too aggressive. Both Dillon and Richard Childress, Chairman and CEO of Richard Childress Racing, who fields both the No. 3 car and the No. 8 car of Kyle Busch, and Dillon’s grandfather both think not.

“I've seen Denny and Joey make moves that have been running people up the track to win. This is the first opportunity in two years for me to be able to get a win. I drove in there and kept all four tires turning across the start/finish line. I've seen a lot of stuff over the years in NASCAR where people move people. It's just part of our sport,” said Dillon.

“At the restart, the 22 jumped outside and got in front. I knew that he (Dillon) knew what he had to do going in. They would have done it to him, you know? It's one of those deals that when it comes down to winning a race and you're in that position, you're hungry, and you do what it takes. That's what I told him all his life,” Childress said.

Elton Sawyer, NASCAR Senior Vice President of Competition, addressed the media at the NASCAR hauler post race about the final laps of the race, post race questions about whether Joey Logano throttled up on pit road after the race, and whether the option tires were deemed a success. “We’ll do a debrief about the option tires. Regarding the Logano post race question and the closing laps of the race, we don’t want to make a split decision and get it wrong. We’ll look at all the data and discuss everything in the next couple days,” Sawyer said.

The NASCAR Cup Series races at Michigan International Speedway next Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET, USA, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App.

PHOTO: Carol D'Agostino for Skirts and Scuffs

Last overtime pit stop for the winning No. 3 team. The pit crew had a 9.7 pit stop average on Sunday.