Can Austin Dillon pull off the Richmond Cup win for a 3rd consecutive 12 months?

Previously two years of NASCAR Cup Sequence racing, Austin Dillon has two wins, they usually’ve each come on the identical observe.

On August eleventh, 2024, he gained in extremely controversial style after deliberately wrecking each Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin within the remaining seconds of the race. He was later faraway from the playoffs for that whereas protecting the win. However what lots of people neglect is that Dillon was nicely on his option to profitable that race earlier than a late-race warning and the following chaos.

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Dillon made certain individuals remembered that one 12 months later. On August sixteenth, 2025, Dillon led 107 of 400 laps, profitable at Richmond but once more and in much more dominant style. It was the one time in Dillon’s complete Cup profession the place he managed to steer 100+ laps in a single race.

Austin Dillon, Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

And whereas rumors and allegations swirled a couple of JGR setup that will have discovered its approach into the RCR store, the very fact stays that Dillon has been sturdy on the Virginia brief observe for years. Earlier than his 2025 win, Dillon’s document for laps led in a single race was 55 laps — additionally at Richmond, in the course of the 2020 season. He completed fourth in that race. He has eight prime tens in 22 begins there, which is extra prime tens than he has at every other observe past Daytona (the place he has additionally gained twice).

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Not like final 12 months, a victory at Richmond will not launch Dillon into the playoffs because the ‘win and also you’re in’ format is gone. However chasing checkered flags continues to be every little thing to those drivers, and a win can also be sorely wanted by the No. 3 RCR group as Dillon has but to attain one other prime 5 since his most up-to-date Richmond win. It will even be very emotional for your entire group, as they search their first Cup win because the tragic passing of Kyle Busch in Could.

The brand new Chevrolet physique could also be a roadblock that Dillon and all the bowties proceed to battle with. Even the mighty Hendrick Motorsports is having an off-year as they regulate to the up to date ZL1.

Dillon sits twenty seventh within the standings with simply three prime tens this 12 months — a sixth at Watkins Glen, a seventh at Atlanta, and a tenth at Iowa simply final weekend.

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Austin Dillon with group proprietor and grandfather Richard Childress

Crew chief Richard Boswell joined SiriusXM NASCAR Radio this week, speaking about their probabilities. He pointed to execution as the important thing, however admitted “we have to make ourselves a bit bit higher. We all know that everybody else goes to undergo and examine what Austin does to be quick there, and they are going to work on their automobiles to place a bit extra downforce in them and make their automobiles drive a bit bit higher. And we have now to do all the identical issues.

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“I believe the largest factor is that we will not beat ourselves. We will not assume that we have now to vary every little thing to be higher. Simply make minor tweaks to what we have now and our baseline, and make it a bit bit higher. A pair hundredths of laptime goes a great distance, and that does not take reinventing the wheel.”

If Dillon manages to tug off the Richmond hat trick, it should put him into a really small and elite membership. The final driver to win three consecutive Cup races at Richmond was Bobby Allison over 40 years in the past in 1983. Nevertheless, the document belongs to Richard Petty, and that is not going to vary anytime quickly. ‘The King’ gained seven straight Cup races at Richmond between 1970 and 1975.

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