Austin Dillon won again in Virginia’s capital on Saturday night, this time without any controversy.
Dillon’s No. 3 Chevrolet came to life late in the second half of the NASCAR Cup Series’ penultimate regular-season race in Richmond, Va., leading him to repeat as winner of the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway and join the playoff field.
In successfully defending his title, Dillon became the race’s first repeat victor since Denny Hamlin accomplished the feat in 2009 and 2010.
The Richard Childress Racing driver wrecked his way to victory last season through leader Joey Logano and Hamlin off the final turn. NASCAR allowed him to keep the win, but did not let him use it to get into the playoffs.
But on Saturday, an aggressive pit stop — coming in right after passing leader Ryan Blaney on Lap 340 — allowed the 35-year-old from North Carolina to beat Alex Bowman’s No. 48 Chevrolet by 2.471 seconds for his sixth career win, placing him in the 16-car postseason.
“That felt really good. … Last year hurt really bad, just going through the whole process of it,” said Dillon, who led 107 laps Saturday and added that he was driving with a broken rib. “This one feels so sweet, and man, I really love Richmond.
“It’s just so special. Every one of these (wins) means so much to me. My grandfather (Richard Childress) … for all that he’s put up in believing in me; there’s been a lot of ups and downs. It would have been easy for him to change the driver in this 3 car, but today it feels really darn good.”
Blaney finished third, followed by Logano, who started last for just the fourth time in his career. Austin Cindric was fifth.
A Chevrolet driver has now won three of the past five races at the three-quarters-mile short track.
Dillon became the 14th different winner, bumping Bowman into the 16th spot in the playoff picture, 60 points ahead of 17th-place Chris Buescher, the first driver below the cut line.
Polesitter Ryan Preece crept away from AJ Allmendinger and Tyler Reddick after earning his second career pole on Friday, while Hamlin moved up to third to start the season’s fourth short-track race.
Despite most everyone taking tires at the midpoint as the rubber fell off, Preece stayed out and lost the lead to Reddick late. Bubba Wallace, Hamlin, Dillon and Cindric rounded out the top five after the 70-lap first stage.
Wallace’s No. 23 led fellow Toyota driver Christopher Bell in the early portions of Stage 2, but after a full green-flag run in Stage 1, the second segment featured three cautions for incidents, including a 16-car pile that started with Chase Briscoe getting hit by Kyle Busch in Turn 3.
The melee included Hamlin, William Byron, Brad Keselowski and Reddick, who led 41 laps, among others. The No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet of Chase Elliott was retired from the event and finished last in 38th.
Wallace earned the top bonus points by clinching the segment. Daniel Suarez, Blaney, Dillon and Bowman were the next four finishers behind Wallace, who led a race-high 123 laps.
However, with Dillon pacing the field, Wallace’s left front tire came off as pit stops began near Lap 300, ending a strong run by the Brickyard 400 winner in Indianapolis last month.
–Field Level Media
