Austin Dillon bangs his way to Richmond win, playoff berth

 

[August 12, 2024]  Austin Dillon was willing to do anything to win Sunday night at Richmond Raceway.

Dillon turned Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin in a chaotic short-track overtime, claiming the Cook Out 400 in the NASCAR Cup Series' return to action in Richmond, Va.

After losing the lead to Logano to start the two-lap shootout, Dillion used his famous No. 3 and shoved Logano in Turn 4 at Richmond Raceway coming to the checkers, spinning the No. 22 Ford. As Hamlin appeared poised to then pass Dillon and grab the win, Dillon clipped the rear of Hamlin's No. 11 and sent the Toyota into the wall.

The Richard Childress Racing driver beat Hamlin by 0.116 seconds for his first victory since Aug. 28, 2022, in Daytona's summer race -- a 68-race winless stretch -- and fifth overall of his career.

By becoming the 13th different winner in 2024, Dillon earned a berth in the championship postseason that begins at Atlanta on Sept. 8.

"I don't know," said Dillon on the fairness of the move. "It's been two years, and this is the first car I've had with a shot to win. ... I hate to do that, but sometimes you've just got to have it. ... It's been tough over the last two years.

"I hate it, but I had to do it. Whatever it takes."

Logano didn't exactly see it that way.

"That's chickensh--, there's no doubt about it," said the Team Penske driver, who finished 19th. "He's four car-lengths back, not even close, then he wrecks (Hamlin) to go along with it. Then he's going to go up there and thank God and praise everything with his baby. It's a bunch of BS.

"I get it, bump and run. ... (But) he came in there and just drove through me."

Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace and Ross Chastain rounded out the top five in the wild finish.

The 70-lap Stage 1 to open the race was a Joe Gibbs Racing affair right away. Polesitter Hamlin paced the first 46 laps until Christopher Bell motored past him on the frontstretch's high side. They stayed that way until the green flag, with Martin Truex Jr. completing the stable's 1-2-3 finish.

Aug 11, 2024; Richmond, Virginia, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Josh Berry (4) and NASCAR Cup Series driver Austin Cendric (2) pass the start/finish line during the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

Daniel Suarez and Michael McDowell chose to put on the softer option tires, and the decision was beneficial. Suarez's No. 99 Chevrolet roared to the lead on Lap 93, while McDowell sped from 28th to seventh in a major move.

By the halfway point, Suarez held a lead of over one second over Bell's No. 20 and managed to maintain it until he won his first stage since 2022 and fourth of his career at Lap 230 over the Toyota driver.

Almost the entire field took the grippier, shorter-life tire, but Truex, who claimed eight stage points in the event, experienced engine failure on his No. 19 Toyota on Lap 250 and soon retired in last.

After leading 115 laps, Bell's hopes to win were damaged when he was tagged for speeding on pit road with less than 120 circuits remaining. He finished the race in sixth.

Kyle Larson, Carson Hocevar, Chase Elliott and Suarez rounded out the top 10.

--Field Level Media

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