Austin Dillon eliminated two competitors in the sprint to the finish and secured a controversial victory and a place in the NASCAR Cup playoffs at Richmond Raceway.
In the final 30 laps, Dillon passed Denny Hamlin to take the lead and seemed to be on his way to victory when a crash involving Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Ryan Preece in the first turn brought out a caution and the race went into a two-lap overtime.
All cars on the lead lap opted to pit and Dillon was the first to exit pit road, followed by Joey Logano and Hamlin. Logano made a good connection to Dillon on the restart and took the lead.
On the final lap, entering Turn 3, Dillon drove deep into the corner, slamming into the rear of Logano and sending him flying into the wall.
Hamlin then moved alongside Dillon, but was himself pushed into the wall by Dillion, who celebrated his first win in nearly two years in the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.
The win is Dillon’s fifth in his NASCAR Cup career and marks his first top-five finish of the 2024 season.
Austin Dillon, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet Camaro
Photo by: Matthew T. Thacker / NKP / Motorsport Images
When asked if his last-lap moves were fair, Dillon said, “I don’t know, man. It’s been two years. That’s the first car I’ve had with a chance to win. I felt like we were the fastest car with two laps to go. Obviously we needed a straightaway. Wore the guy. I hate to do that, but sometimes you just have to have it.”
“I have to thank the good Lord. The last two years have been tough, man. I care about RCR, these fans and my wife. This is the first time I’ve given my little girl something. It means a lot to me. I hate it, but I had to do it.”
It was a hectic night of action following NASCAR’s summer break, as two more contenders for the win dropped out of the race before the finish.
Christopher Bell, who had one of the fastest cars all night and led 122 laps, retired from the race when he was caught speeding during a round of green flag pit stops at the start of the final stage.
Bell’s teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing, Martin Truex Jr. – who led the most laps at the spring race in Richmond – was taken out of the race after 250 laps with an engine failure.
Although Dillon earned a hard-fought victory, Hamlin still managed to cross the finish line in second place ahead of the 23XI Racing duo of Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace, while Ross Chastain rounded out the top five for Trackhouse Racing.
