RICHMOND, VA – Austin Dillon claimed his first NASCAR Cup Series victory in two seasons in Sunday night’s Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway — vaulting from 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 NASCAR Overtime, Dillon’s No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevy hit the rear bumper of the race-leading No. 22 Team Penske Ford driven by Joey Logano, crashing Logano’s car into the SAFER barrier. Then Dillon immediately moved low on the track and hit Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota while driving by. That contact allowed Dillon to take the checkered flag only a few feet ahead and claim the all-important win just before the yellow flag was displayed.
Denny Hamlin finished second as the race ended under caution
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.
The Race extended eight laps past its scheduled 400-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.
Dillon’s first win in the last 68 races and fifth of his career. His last trophy came in the final regular-season race in 2022 at Daytona International Speedway, earning a last-chance position in that playoff run. He was ranked 32nd in points coming into this Richmond race — 258 points behind the playoff elimination line — and now he becomes the 13th driver to win his way into championship contention this season.
There were four caution periods for a total of 26 laps. Only 19 of the 37 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
Kyle Larson remains the championship leader after Richmond with a five-point advantage over second-place Tyler Reddick.
Stage 1 Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 2 Winner: Daniel Suárez of Trackhouse Racing (Chevrolet)
Stewart Haas Racing Finish:
- Josh Berry (Started 3rd, Finished 14th / Running, completed 408 of 408 laps)
- Noah Gragson (Started 16th, Finished 20th / Running, completed 407 of 408 laps)
- Chase Briscoe (Started 25th, Finished 21st / Running, completed 407 of 408 laps)
- Ryan Preece (Started 26th, Finished 25th / Running, completed 407 of 408 laps)
Stewart Haas Racing Points:
- Chase Briscoe (17th with 485 points, 294 out of first)
- Josh Berry (23rd with 412 points, 367 out of first)
- Noah Gragson (24th with 400 points, 379 out of first)
- Ryan Preece (27th with 341 points, 438 out of first)
Berry earned his ninth top-15 of the season and his third top-15 in three career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Richmond.
“It was fun. We struggled a little bit more than we thought we would, but all in all, we executed a good race, stayed on the lead lap, and got a solid finish,” said Josh Berry, driver of the No. 4 P&G Supports Our Military Ford Mustang Dark Horse. “We’ll just build off of that and go to Michigan.”
Berry finished 10th in Stage 1 to earn one bonus point.
Gragson earned his 14th top-20 of the season and his second straight top-20 at Richmond.
“We just kind of struggled all weekend; we just needed forward drive, but we’re still super proud of our group. We got the car better, just kind of got behind all day, said Noah Gragson, driver of the No. 10 Overstock.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse. “We’re super excited for next weekend in Michigan, and we’ll keep going.”
“For what we’ve kind of had here at Richmond from just a racing standpoint – you know, it’s kind of been hard to pass – I don’t know what it looked like outside of the car, but inside the car it looked like there were a lot of guys going forward, going backward,” said Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 14 Rinnai Ford Mustang Dark Horse. “It definitely added a new complexion and strategy to the race. I’d be interested to see what we’d all look like if we ran the soft tire the whole time. I thought it was OK.” –
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the FireKeepers Casino 400, which will be held on Sunday, Aug. 18, at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn. The race begins at 2:30 p.m. EDT and will be covered live by USA and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
