Wiping out two rivals on the final lap to win, Dillon was an unpopular winner last year. Tonight he redeemed himself with a quick, consistent and measured drive over 400 miles of Richmond Raceway, rewarding him with a spot in the Playoffs.
Meanwhile, William Byron clinched the regular season championship with one round to spare.
Richmond Raceway: the site of Austin Dillon’s infamous win last year – from 32nd in points. It was a fine example of desperation in the dying moments of the regular season. With only two opportunities left this season, will we see another controversial winner? They say Saturday night’s alright for fightin’…
Ryan Preece took pole position for the Cook Out 400, granting him a golden opportunity to win his way to a guaranteed Playoff spot. How will he and his no, 60 RFK team tackle the day to achieve this? Preece said: “We need to be elite, if that’s what it’s gonna take to make the Playoffs.”
As the green flag dropped, Preece held the lead with Kaulig Racing’s AJ Allmendinger in tow. However, JGR veteran Denny Hamlin passed Allmendinger before diving for pit road on lap 35, among most other drivers.
Preece did not pit, saving tyres for later in the race, but sacrificing huge time against Hamlin, the highest-placed car on new tyres. Reddick and Hamlin swapped places, and by lap 60, both drivers passed the no. 60 for the lead. Reddick, yet to win in 2025, took the stage one victory on lap 70.
Pit stops under caution saw 23XI team-mates Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick lead the field, sweeping the front row for the restart. Three prominent drivers in stage one, Hamlin, Allmendinger and Chase Elliott, suffered penalties on pit road and were forced to restart at the rear.
Wallace kept the lead until green flag pit stops around lap 130, losing out to Preece and Dillon, but regained the lead by lap 166. Meanwhile, the Penske Fords made significant ground throughout the race, with all three cars firmly in the top five.
Another series of green-flag pit stops ensued – until Reddick spun on lap 180 from contact with Ty Gibbs off the nose of Daniel Suarez, triggering a caution.
Wallace led the field back to green. A caution shortly followed when Cody Ware’s no. 51 Ford spun.
The restart provided spectacular three and four-wide racing – until a spin from Chase Briscoe off the front of Kyle Busch collected a significant number of cars – including major players like Hamlin and Elliott. Elliott’s day was bizarrely ended when Busch moved down the race track following the wreck and inadvertently tight-hooked Elliott into the wall.
Wallace led from Suarez and Blaney as they restarted with 17 to go. A clean run ensured 23XI swept the stages under the lights in Virginia, as Wallace took stage two on lap 230.
Michael McDowell took advantage of pit stops under caution to lead Wallace and the others to green with 160 to go. A three-wide battle for the lead saw Austin Dillon steal the lead from Wallace and McDowell.
During green flag stops on lap 292, Bubba Wallace lost a rear-right tyre and was forced to stop in the no. 19’s pit box to re-attach the wheel before he left pit road. He later served a penalty for pitting outside the box. Meanwhile, Ty Gibb’s no. 54 Toyota caught fire by the brake line, ending his night early with terminal brake issues.
With fewer than 100 laps to go, pit stops cycled Ryan Blaney to the lead – albeit with Austin Dillon bearing down on him with fresher Goodyears. After several laps side-by-side, Dillon finally cleared the no. 12 with 61 laps to go.
As soon as he took the lead, Dillon hit pit road for the ‘money stop’. Blaney continued on the racetrack for some laps, ultimately losing out to Dillon’s undercut and long-run pace. Alex Bowman contested for P2 and finished runner-up to the famed no. 3 Chevy for Richard Childress Racing, with a top five completed by all three Penske Fords.
Just one year on from a controversial finish, Austin Dillon scored redemption under the lights of Richmond Raceway to vault from 28th in the standings to secure his spot in the Playoffs legitimately.
“Today it feels really darn good,” he said, remarking the history and prestige of his no. 3 Chevy, feeling honoured to win for his grandfather’s team.
Meanwhile, William Byron’s 12th-place finish was enough to clinch the regular season championship over his Hendrick team-mate, Chase Elliott, with one race to spare.
And finally, the Coke Zero Sugar 400 will commence next Saturday – one final free-for-all for those looking to grab a spot in the Playoffs at 180 miles per hour. Chris Buescher and Alex Bowman will dance the cutoff line, 60 points apart, or will another surprise victor add another twist to the 2025 season?
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