Austin Dillon knocks Logano out of the way to win at Richmond
Photo by Logan Whitton/Getty Images
RICHMOND, Va. — It took a controversial full-contact finish but Austin Dillon claimed his first NASCAR Cup Series victory in two seasons in Sunday night’s Cook Out 400 at Richmond (Va.) Raceway – vaulting from a 32nd place in the points standings before the race to an automatic Playoff berth with the win.
Coming to the checkered flag during the final lap of overtime, Dillon’s No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevy hit the rear bumper of the race-leading No. 22 Team Penske driven by Joey Logano crashing Logano’s car into the catchfence. Then Dillon immediately moved low on track and hit Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota as he was driving by. It allowed Dillon to take the checkered flag only a few feet ahead and claim the all-important win by a slight .116-second.
As Logano and Hamlin drove their dented, smoking cars to pit lane, the 34-year-old North Carolinian Dillon did victory doughnuts and spoke about the win and the move he used to gain it. He reminded reporters later that this was short track-style racing and that he’s seen both Logano and Hamlin make similarly aggressive moves to win a trophy.
“I don’t know man, it’s been two years and this is the first car I’ve had a shot to win with,’’ Dillon said when asked if he thought it was a fair move for the win.
“I felt like with two to go, we were the fastest car. Obviously we had to have a straightaway. Wrecked the guy. I hate to do that, but sometimes you just got to do it.
“I got to thank the good Lord above. It’s been tough for the last two years man. I care about RCR, these fans, my wife. This is my first [win] for my baby girl. It means a lot. I hate it, but I had to do it.’’
“When given that shot, you’ve got to take it,’’ Dillon added.
It’s Dillon’s first win in the last 68 races and fifth of his career. His last trophy came in the final regular season race of 2022 at Daytona International Speedway which earned a last chance position in that Playoff run. He was ranked 32nd in points coming into this Richmond race – 258 points behind the Playoff cutoff line – and now he becomes the 13th driver to win his way into championship contention.
Noted his grandfather, team owner and NASCAR Hall of Famer, Richard Childress, “He knew what he had to do and they (Logano and Hamlin) would have done it to him.’’
After speaking briefly with reporters alongside his car on pit road, an angry Logano went immediately to the NASCAR officials team hauler.
“It was chicken &*#! – there’s no doubt about it,’’ the two-time series champion Logano said of Dillon’s move. “He was four car-lengths back, not even close. Then he wrecks the 11 [Hamlin] to go along with it.
“I mean I get it, bump and run,’’ Logano continued, “I’ve done that, but he just drove through me, it’s ridiculous.’’
Logano’s crew chief Paul Wolfe was frustrated as well.
“It’s just a joke to call that racing. … something like that, that’s not racing,’’ Wolfe said. “We all put too much in this … that’s not professional what happened tonight.’’
Hamlin, who led the most laps (124) on the night, was equally as frustrated.
“There are no penalties for rough driving so it opens up the opportunity for Austin to just do whatever he wants,’’ said Hamlin, who was scored second.
“I got hooked in the right rear again. I was just minding my own business and he hooked me in the right rear and put me in the fence. I don’t know. The record book won’t care about what happened, He’s going to be credited with a win but obviously he’s not going to go far [in the Playoffs] because you got to pay your dues back on stuff like that.
“But it was worth it because he jumped 20 positions in points, I understand that and there’s no ill will there, but I just hate that I was a part of it. … I understand it but I don’t agree with it.’’
Finishing just behind Hamlin were 23XI Racing teammates Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace. Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain was fifth. These positions were important with only three races remaining now to set the 16-driver Playoff field.
Playoff eligibility changed throughout the race – sometimes dramatically so.
Wallace’s top-five run was enough to move him from a seven-point deficit outside the Playoff 16 to just inside the top 16. He has a three-point advantage in that final Playoff position now over both Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing’s Chris Buescher, who finished 18th Sunday night, and Chastain.
Martin Truex Jr. who led the championship standings for much of the early season and held a 102-point advantage inside the standings at the Richmond green flag, took a big hit in the points. His No. 19 JGR Toyota had to retire early with engine problems taking a last place finish in Sunday’s 37-car field and now the 2017 series champion holds only a 78-point advantage above the Playoff cutoff – ranked 14th still the highest ranked driver without a win.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Ty Gibbs is 15th with a 19-point cushion above the cutoff line, followed by Wallace, Buescher and Chastain.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Bell, who led 122 laps and won Stage 1 – a series best 10th stage win – finished sixth, followed by Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson, Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar, Hendrick’s Chase Elliott and Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suárez rounding out the Richmond top 10.
Larson continues to lead the standings – now with a five-point advantage over Reddick and a six-point lead on his teammate Elliott. Hamlin is fourth, only 21 points back.
Not only was the race noteworthy for its dramatic ending and the shake up in the points standings, it was a test run of the new option tire that allowed teams to have a choice of Goodyear rubber in-race. It certainly created a new element of strategy and suspense.
Suárez who tried the new tires early, for example, made up 15 points and took the lead immediately after his pit stop to change them.
“The Option tire worked exactly as it was intended,’’ said Goodyear’s Director of Racing Greg Stucker. “They fired off immediately and were more than a half-second faster than the Prime, which is big on a short track. Also, the Options gave up significantly more than the Primes over a long run, as intended.
“What was really exciting was how different teams used the Option tire at different times to accomplish their own goals,’’ he added.
With all the storylines, dramatic finish, and important new tire element, Reddick offered the understatement of the evening, “Wild way to end the night.’’
The series moves to the Midwest next week for Sunday’s Firekeepers Casino 400 at the two-mile Michigan International Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing’s Buescher is the defending race winner.
NASCAR Cup Series Race Number 23
Race Results for the Cook Out 400 - Sunday, August 11, 2024
Richmond Raceway - Richmond, VA - 0.75 - Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 408 Laps - 306. Miles
Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Sunday, 8/11/2024 @ 09:50 PM Eastern
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Stage 1 Pos Stage 2 Pos Pts Status Tms Laps Playoff Pts
1 6 3 Austin Dillon Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet 408 7 5 50 Running 4 35 5
2 1 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Rewards Toyota 408 2 3 52 Running 7 124
3 10 45 Tyler Reddick Mobil 1 Toyota 408 9 7 40 Running 1 8
4 8 23 Bubba Wallace Leidos Toyota 408 5 8 42 Running
5 22 1 Ross Chastain Jockey Infinite Cool Underwear Chevrolet 408 32 Running
6 5 20 Christopher Bell DEWALT Carpentry Solutions Toyota 408 1 2 50 Running 5 122 1
7 15 5 Kyle Larson HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 408 30 Running 1 17
8 19 77 Carson Hocevar # Delaware Life Chevrolet 408 9 31 Running 1 2
9 4 9 Chase Elliott Coca-Cola Chevrolet 408 6 10 34 Running 3 5
10 21 99 Daniel Suarez Choice Privileges Chevrolet 408 1 37 Running 4 93 1
11 11 12 Ryan Blaney BodyArmor Sport Water Ford 408 26 Running
12 12 8 Kyle Busch Cheddar's Patriotic Chevrolet 408 25 Running
13 13 24 William Byron Valvoline Chevrolet 408 24 Running
14 3 4 Josh Berry # P&G Supports Our Military Ford 408 10 24 Running
15 28 34 Michael McDowell Love's Travel Stops Ford 408 6 27 Running
16 29 6 Brad Keselowski BuildSubmarines.com Ford 408 21 Running
17 23 38 Todd Gilliland The Pete Store Ford 408 20 Running
18 7 17 Chris Buescher Fastenal Ford 408 8 22 Running
19 9 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 408 4 4 32 Running 1 2
20 16 10 Noah Gragson Overstock.com Ford 407 17 Running
21 25 14 Chase Briscoe Rinnai Ford 407 16 Running
22 14 54 Ty Gibbs He Gets Us Toyota 407 15 Running
23 20 71 Zane Smith # Focused Health Chevrolet 407 14 Running
24 18 2 Austin Cindric Menards/Libman Ford 407 13 Running
25 26 41 Ryan Preece Mohawk Northeast Ford 407 12 Running
26 30 16 Ty Dillon(i) Chevy Accessories Chevrolet 407 0 Running
27 36 51 Justin Haley Pinnacle Home Improvement Ford 406 10 Running
28 17 48 Alex Bowman Ally Chevrolet 406 9 Running
29 27 43 Erik Jones Family Dollar Toyota 406 8 Running
30 32 31 Daniel Hemric Cirkul Chevrolet 406 7 Running
31 35 42 John Hunter Nemechek Pye Barker Fire & Safety Toyota 405 6 Running
32 31 21 Harrison Burton DEX Imaging Ford 405 5 Running
33 34 15 Riley Herbst(i) Monster Energy Zero Sugar Ford 405 0 Running
34 24 7 Corey LaJoie Advisor Advantage/Clear Spring Chevrolet 404 3 Running
35 37 66 * Parker Retzlaff(i) XInsurance Ford 402 0 Running
36 33 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Kroger/General Mills Box Tops Chevrolet 397 1 Accident
37 2 19 Martin Truex Jr. Bass Pro Shops Toyota 250 3 9 Engine
Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 3 Mins, 19 Secs. Average Speed: 100.155 MPH Margin of Victory: Under Caution
Stage 1 Top 10: 20, 11, 19, 22, 23, 9, 3, 17, 45, 4
Stage 2 Top 10: 99, 20, 11, 22, 3, 34, 45, 23, 77, 9
Caution Flags: 4 for 26 laps; Laps: 72-80 (Stage 1 Conclusion [34]); 232-240 (Stage 2 Conclusion [4]); 400-406 (#41, 47 incident turn 2 [8]); 408-408 ( [None]).
Lead Changes: 26 among 9 drivers; D. Hamlin 1-45; C. Bell 46-80; D. Hamlin 81-83; C. Bell 84; D. Hamlin 85-92; D. Suarez 93-121; D. Hamlin 122-123; C. Elliott 124-126; K. Larson 127-143; C. Bell 144-176; C. Elliott 177; T. Reddick 178-185; D. Suarez 186-235; C. Bell 236-281; C. Elliott 282; D. Suarez 283-292; D. Hamlin 293-332; A. Dillon 333; C. Hocevar # 334-335; C. Bell 336-342; D. Suarez 343-346; D. Hamlin 347-371; A. Dillon 372-400; D. Hamlin 401; A. Dillon 402-405; J. Logano 406-407; A. Dillon 408.
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
Next Race: August 18, 2024 - Michigan International Speedway
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