RICHMOND, Va. — Austin Dillon didn’t face any questions about whether he crossed any line other than the finish line Saturday night.
Just one year ago, Dillon’s Richmond Raceway victory stirred a huge controversy and resulted in NASCAR ruling that his contact with Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin was too egregious to award a playoff berth for the win. But this year, Dillon won with absolutely no controversy, as he beat Alex Bowman by 2.47 seconds at the finish.
Austin Dillon celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out 400 at Richmond
“I’m too tired to be angry,” Dillon said. “I got a little cold, a broken rib, a lot of adversity. Some things you don’t understand at the time come back around.
“God has a way of putting that timing together. I feel like I was probably the calmest I’ve ever been tonight in the car winning the race. I didn’t act a certain way. I was just thankful for the opportunity.”
Dillon entered the race 28th in the NASCAR Cup Series standings but now will be one of the 16 drivers in the playoffs when they start in two weeks at Darlington Raceway.
Two spots remain in the playoff field.
Tyler Reddick and Bowman would gain those spots if the regular-season finale doesn’t have a new winner. If there is a new winner, one of those two drivers would get the final spot, with Reddick entering the race 29 points ahead of Bowman.
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Tyler Reddick greets fans as he walks onstage during driver intros prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out 400 at Richmond.
Dillon doesn’t have those worries, as he no doubt has a playoff spot. Last year, the team lost its appeal to the NASCAR decision to withdraw the playoff berth in the wake of the last-lap fracas.
“I’ll never forget last year,” said Dillon’s grandfather and team owner, Richard Childress. “But today, winning the race — I want to focus and concentrate on it.
“I was not happy with the way things went down with the way things were called on us. But that’s history. Let’s look at tonight. Tonight was a great night.”
Dillon and Ryan Blaney gave a great battle for the lead in the final 100 laps, with them side-by-side and at times swapping the front spot. Dillon made his final pit stop about four laps before Blaney and Blaney could never catch him, eventually wearing out his tires enough that Bowman passed him for second.
Ryan Blaney and Austin Dillon race during the NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway
“He raced door-to-door with a Cup champion,” said Richard Boswell, who came to RCR to crew chief for Dillon this season after the closure of Stewart-Haas Racing. “He beat him at the end.”
For Dillon, it marked his sixth win in his 433rd career Cup start. Driving the famed No. 3 that Dale Earnhardt made famous while racing for Childress, Dillon faces questions about whether he deserves the privilege of driving such an iconic car number.
That only increased when many questioned how he won the race at Richmond a year ago, a race where Dillon had a comfortable lead until a caution set up a two-lap shootout to the checkered flag.
Dillon said it was hard for his grandfather to get over it.
“Last year … it stung to him because he felt like NASCAR kind of let him down in a way,” Dillon said. “They had to make a call. I got over it. He doesn’t get over those type of things.
“Hopefully this lets him sleep at night again … because this sport is special. It’s given our family a living and a lot of other families a living.”
And the win at Richmond was special, a track where Dillon struggled early in his career but also a track where RCR has had some great moments. Dillon also raced for the third consecutive week with a broken rib, suffered when he fell off a ladder at home.
When Dillon arrived on Friday at Richmond, he said he didn’t arrive with an angry feeling from last year and the term redemption didn’t really seem to apply. The circumstances were just different this year.
“This is what I wanted last year,” Dillon said. “It’s not how I wanted to end it last year [when] I felt like I had to with my back against the wall kind of deal.”
FINAL LAPS: Austin Dillon wins Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway
Dillon had led just one lap in any race since winning a year ago and before leading 107 Saturday night at Richmond.
“If you would have told me we would come back a year later and sitting in Victory Lane after all we went through?” Dillon said. “I cried in our appeal process because that win meant a lot to me to be able to race with Denny and Joey.
“Before that period, we didn’t have a good run. I was so pumped to just be up there racing for a win. Then to come back this year, everyone is telling you, ‘Go get it done. You can get the redemption here. Show them what it means to win.’”
The 35-year-old Dillon made the playoffs for the first time in three years. He finished 29th and 32nd in the standings the last two seasons.
“We’re kind of like a fighter,” Dillon said. “We don’t go away. I think a lot of people think that guy is going to go away at some point. We’re able to claw, chip, find ways.
“I like that underdog mentality a little bit.”
Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
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