Can Austin Dillon pull off the Richmond Cup win for a third consecutive year?
In the past two years of NASCAR Cup Series racing, Austin Dillon has two wins, and they've both come at the same track. On August 11th, 2024, he won in highly controversial fashion after intentionally wrecking both Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin in the final seconds of the race. He was later removed from the playoffs for that while keeping the win. But what a lot of people forget is that Dillon ...…
Austin Dillon has claimed victory at the Richmond Cup track twice in the last two years, with both wins occurring under controversial circumstances. In 2024, he won by colliding deliberately with Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin in the final moments of the race, though he later retained his spot in the playoffs despite the controversy.
The following year, Dillon dominated the Richmond race once again, leading an impressive 107 of the 400 laps. This marks the only time in his career that he has led 100+ laps in a single race. Dillon's record for most laps led in one race at Richmond is 55, achieved in 2020. He has consistently performed well at the track, securing eight top tens in 22 starts there, more than any other track beside Daytona, where he has also won twice.
While a Richmond win won't automatically secure Dillon's spot in the playoffs this year, it would certainly bolster his team's morale, as they are still searching for their first Cup win since the passing of Kyle Busch in May. Dillon currently sits 27th in the standings, with only three top tens this year. Team crew chief Richard Boswell emphasized the importance of execution and making minor improvements to their car's baseline performance, acknowledging that they must compete with the best teams in the sport.
If Dillon can secure the Richmond Cup hat trick, he would join a very exclusive group of drivers, with the last instance occurring in 1983 when Bobby Allison won three consecutive Richmond races. Richard Petty holds the record for the most consecutive Richmond victories, achieved between 1970 and 1975.
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