Yahoo Lifestyle Austin Dillon survives flurry of late restarts to win at Texas
Austin Dillon is going back to the Cup Series playoffs.
Dillon held off teammate Tyler Reddick on a two-lap sprint to the finish to earn his first win of 2020 and his first win since the 2018 Daytona 500.
Dillon took the lead after his team decided that a two-tire stop was the best way to maintain track position after Quin Houff inexplicably crashed on lap 304 as teams were trying varying pit stop strategies.
Dillon found himself in second after that crash behind Reddick — who took fuel only — and got the lead after the ensuing restart. He then had to hold on for two more restarts after cautions that came out for Denny Hamlin inside the last 30 laps.
Hamlin crashed with Alex Bowman on lap 318 of the 334-lap race and then crashed by himself after that. The final crash set up the last sprint to the finish as Dillon was able to keep Reddick, Joey Logano and Kyle Busch at bay.
Dillon was able to do that because tire wear was nonexistent at Texas on Sunday. Fresh tires were far less important than clean air throughout the entirety of the race as drivers were able to relatively maintain track position.
Much like Kentucky, the majority of the race was a snoozer at best — though the highlights the race provided will overshadow the lack of passing throughout the race for better or worse.
The first big highlight came when Ryan Blaney had to check up while racing for the lead on lap 217 shortly after a restart. Blaney bottled up the field behind him and Busch went spinning off Aric Almirola’s bumper. As Busch spun he took out teammate Martin Truex Jr. and Truex then collected a bunch of cars on the front stretch after he hit the wall.
Houff causes chaos
A ridiculously bad move by Quin Houff put Dillon in position to get the win. Hamlin had pitted for two tires ahead of Ryan Blaney and appeared to be poised to inherit the lead as the race ended its conclusion when the cars ahead of them had to make their final pit stops.
But Houff ruined any chances that Hamlin and Blaney had at a win when he tried to pit from the middle of turn 4 with Christopher Bell to his inside.
Houff bounced off Bell and then Matt DiBenedetto and crashed into the wall. Calling the maneuver a rookie mistake would be extremely generous. And it’s a great example of how Houff, who has started all 18 Cup Series races in 2020, is over 30 points behind Kyle Larson in the standings. Larson, as you probably know, got fired after just four races after he said a racial slur during a virtual race.
Some good drivers are going to miss the playoffs
Dillon entered Sunday’s race 24 points behind Jimmie Johnson for the final playoff spot. That was after Cole Custer surprisingly won at Kentucky after he entered that race 25th in the standings.
With drivers securing playoff spots with a win, there are going to be some very good winless drivers who miss out on the postseason thanks to Dillon and Custer’s wins.
William Byron and Jimmie Johnson were both involved in crashes on Sunday and Johnson is currently ahead of Byron for the final playoff spot by two points. Erik Jones is also sitting outside the playoffs alongside Reddick and Bubba Wallace.
RCR’s 1-2
The 1-2 finish for Richard Childress Racing is the team’s first since 2011 when Clint Bowyer beat Jeff Burton at Talladega.
RCR has struggled in the years between its 1-2 finishes. Especially after Kevin Harvick left the team after the 2013 season.
Dillon’s win is just the fourth since Harvick departed and the team’s 15th since that 1-2 finish. Of those 15 wins since Bowyer’s Talladega victory, nine of them were by Harvick.
Race Results
1. Austin Dillon
2. Tyler Reddick
3. Joey Logano
4. Kyle Busch
5. Kevin Harvick
6. Erik Jones
7. Ryan Blaney
8. Kurt Busch
9. Brad Keselowski
10. Aric Almirola
11. Clint Bowyer
12. Chase Elliott
13. Ryan Newman
14. Bubba Wallace
15. Michael McDowell
16. Corey LaJoie
17. Matt DiBenedetto
18. Matt Kenseth
19. Chris Buescher
20. Denny Hamlin
21. Christopher Bell
22. John Hunter Nemechek
23. Daniel Suarez
24. JJ Yeley
25. Gray Gaulding
26. Jimmie Johnson
27. Brennan Poole
28. Reed Sorenson
29. Martin Truex Jr.
30. Alex Bowman
31. Josh Bilicki
32. Joey Gase
33. BJ McLeod
34. Quin Houff
35. Ty Dillon
36. Timmy Hill
37. William Byron
38. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
39. Cole Custer
40. Ryan Preece
Points standings
1. Kevin Harvick, 721 points
2. Ryan Blaney, 630
3. Brad Keselowski, 615
4. Joey Logano, 607
5. Chase Elliott, 604
6. Denny Hamlin, 578
7. Martin Truex Jr., 557
8. Aric Almirola, 534
9. Kurt Busch, 533
10. Kyle Busch, 520
11. Alex Bowman, 508
12. Matt DiBenedetto, 476
13. Clint Bowyer, 461
14. Austin Dillon, 428
15. Jimmie Johnson, 427
16. William Byron, 425
17. Tyler Reddick, 413
18. Erik Jones, 403
19. Bubba Wallace, 351
20. Chris Buescher, 341
– – – – – – –
Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports.
More from Yahoo Sports:
