AUSTIN DILLION LED 107 LAPS TO WIN RICHMOND FOR THE 2nd YEAR IN A ROW

Needing a win to make the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, Austin Dillon led 107 laps to win Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway for the second year in a row.

Dillon’s 2024 Richmond victory was shrouded in controversy as the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing driver contacted both Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin in the final laps, leading NASCAR officials to ultimately rescind Dillon’s playoff eligibility.

This year, Austin Dillon left no doubt, benefiting from a 160-lap run to the finish and navigating lapped traffic to hold off bubble driver Alex Bowman for his sixth career victory, shaking up the playoff picture before next week’s regular-season finale.

Bowman came home second while the Team Penske trio of Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano and Austin Cindric completed the top five. Kyle Larson, Daniel Suárez, Josh Berry, Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top 10.

23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace led the most laps, turning 123 circuits out in front but lost a left-front wheel on pit road under green at Lap 291. The Brickyard 400 winner quickly caught the issue, wisely pulling into Chase Briscoe’s pit stall as the No. 19 crew picked up the tire, jacked the Toyota up, and re-secured the wheel. He finished 28th, two laps down.

A string of Stage 2 cautions involved a group of contenders Saturday night. At Lap 182, moments after pitting under green, Tyler Reddick spun in Turn 4 after contact from Daniel Suárez moved Ty Gibbs into him. Reddick, who won Stage 1 and led 41 laps, suffered front-end damage but continued on, finishing 34th.

At Lap 198, Kyle Busch made contact with Chase Briscoe entering Turn 3, causing a wreck that involved 11 cars as Briscoe spun in front of the field. Chase Elliott, who entered Saturday’s race second in points, received the brunt of it, getting turned by Busch after nearly clearing the wreck. The DNF marked his first of the season.

The Cup Series returns Saturday, Aug. 23, for the regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Peacock).