After earning his first win of the 2025 season at Richmond Raceway, Austin Dillon surprised those watching when he revealed in his winner’s interview that he recently suffered a broken rib.
He later expanded on that in the post-race press conference. “I don’t like to talk about it, but I fell off a ladder pulling my bow case off, getting ready for hunting season,” explained Dillon. “Fell on top of the bow case. It knocked the breath out of me. Knew it was pretty bad. Went ahead and raced Iowa. I got it X-rayed — seventh one on my right (side) is broken.
“I’ve been racing with it. It’s been pretty painful. I raced Watkins Glen, Iowa, then here. Should be good. It’s made pretty big improvements over the last two weeks.”
Austin Dillon, Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Photo by: Chris Graythen – Getty Images
Even more impressively, Dillon finished tenth at Iowa Speedway and then 15th at the Watkins Glen road course, before coming to Richmond and winning the 400-lap race. Dillon led 107 laps on Saturday night, which is a record for the Richard Childress Racing driver.
But unlike Dillon’s 2024 victory at the same track, there was no controversy this time as Dillon cruised to the checkered flag. This win (the sixth of his career) vaulted Dillon from 28th in the championship standings into the NASCAR Cup playoffs. This will be Dillon’s sixth appearance in the playoffs, but his first since the 2022 season.
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