Austin Dillon equals a Dale
Earnhardt feat with his convincing NASCAR win at Richmond
[August 18, 2025]
By NATE RYAN
In his playoff-clinching victory at Richmond Raceway, Austin Dillon
shared some NASCAR history on the venerable short track with the
most famous driver of the No. 3 Chevrolet.
Dale Earnhardt, the late seven-time Cup Series champion who amassed
76 victories in a Hall of Fame career, was the last Richard
Childress Racing driver to win consecutive Cup races at the
0.75-mile oval in Richmond, Virginia, until Dillon did so Saturday
night.
The comparisons to Earnhardt and whispers of nepotism have dogged
Dillon since the grandson of team owner Richard Childress was tabbed
11 years ago to drive the car number synonymous with a NASCAR icon.
“I could win 50 races, and they’ll say my grandpa gave me the ride,”
Dillon said with a smile. “They’re not wrong. He did. He did a great
job putting me in it. Hopefully, I’m paying off on his investment at
some point.”
Richmond was only his sixth victory in 433 Cup starts, but Dillon
said snapping a 37-race winless streak was “one of the best because
it was pretty much a butt kicking.” He led 107 of 400 laps,
including the final 49, and cruised to a 2.471-second victory over
Alex Bowman.
Dillon never led for more than 35 laps in any of his previous Cup
wins. He won the 2018 Daytona 500 by leading only the last lap after
knocking Aric Almirola aside two turns from the checkered flag.
Last year’s win at Richmond was his most controversial as Dillon
wrecked Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin on the final lap, and NASCAR
consequently revoked his playoff eligibility.
There was no such drama Saturday night, when Dillon cleanly
outdueled 2023 Cup champion Ryan Blaney just before his final pit
stop.
“Anybody that says Austin doesn’t deserve to be at this level, look
at the 30 or 40 laps he raced side by side with Ryan Blaney,” said
Richard Boswell, Dillon’s crew chief. “He raced door to door with a
Cup champion. He beat him. Yeah, we need to run better. We need to
be more consistent. But anybody that says he just can’t do it is not
looking at the facts.”
The statistics are less convincing about Dillon’s championship
chances.
Richmond was the first top-five finish in 25 races this year for
Dillon, who is ranked 25th in the points standings and in the Cup
playoffs for the sixth time in 12 seasons. He has won championships
in the Truck and Xfinity series, with 22 victories across NASCAR’s
top three national circuits.
“Austin has earned his way,” Childress said. “He won races in
everything he’s ever driven. They’re going to give you criticism
because he is my grandson. But we take it. It’s just the way life
is. You can’t be burdened down by what people say. Do what you do
and move forward. He’s won his share.”
Dillon, 35, said he cried last year during RCR’s unsuccessful appeal
of the NASCAR penalty that took him out of the playoffs, noting he
legitimately had passed Hamlin and Logano before a late caution
erased a comfortable lead. The Richmond repeat validated Dillon’s
belief that he belongs in NASCAR’s premier series.
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Austin Dillon waves during driver introductions before two NASCAR
Daytona 500 qualifying auto races at Daytona International Speedway,
Feb. 13, 2025, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux, file)
“I think I get the credit I deserve,” he said. “I
have some loyal fans. We’re kind of like a fighter. We don’t go
away. I think a lot of people think that guy is going to go away at
some point. I like that underdog mentality a little bit.”
He also likes his new pairing with Boswell, who joined Richard
Childress Racing after taking Chase Briscoe to the 2024 playoffs.
Boswell made a pivotal call to pit with 59 laps remaining just after
Dillon took the lead from Blaney.
“I have a great team right now, probably one of the strongest we’ve
built,” Dillon said. “We want to make this organization as strong as
some of the top teams. We scrap and claw and figure out ways to win.
I think we have fun when we do that.”
Playoff outlook
Dillon became the 14th winner to lock into the 16-driver playoff
field heading into the Aug. 23 regular-season finale at Daytona
International Speedway. There will be at least one winless driver to
qualify for the playoffs, and Tyler Reddick and Bowman occupy the
final two provisional spots in the points standings.
Reddick was on track to clinch a playoff spot at Richmond after
leading 41 laps, but he finished 34th after being caught in a crash
that started when Daniel Suarez bumped Ty Gibbs.
“It’s pretty much worst-case scenario for us,” Reddick said. “We can
thank Daniel Suarez for that. Went from a car that was one of the
fastest on the track to one of the slowest.”
Bubba Wallace, who is teamed with Reddick at the 23XI Racing squad
co-owned by NBA great Michael Jordan, led a race-high 123 laps in
his No. 23 Toyota but finished two laps down in 28th after losing a
tire during a pit stop.
Regular-season champion
With a 12th-place finish, William Byron clinched the regular-season
title as Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott finished last.
Byron will be awarded 15 playoff points that will provide a good
cushion to make the championship finale at Phoenix Raceway for the
third consecutive season.
“It’s huge,” Byron said. “No one’s running away with this thing,
which is going to create a really crazy playoffs. I feel like we’re
in rhythm.”
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