Entering Richmond, there was a dark cloud over Austin Dillon as memories returned of the controversial 2024 finish, where he intentionally wrecked two cars on his way to winning the race. His actions then forced NASCAR to remove him from the playoffs, but this time, there was no drama for the No. 3 as he dominated the final stint of the race.
“Man, that feels good,” said Dillon. “Got to thank the good Lord above. I really wanted that one. Last year hurt really bad, just going through the whole process of it. But this one feels so sweet. Man, I love Richmond. Our Winchester Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet is really good … Didn’t feel great (all week). I’m actually racing with a broken rib right now for the last two weeks. Man, that was awesome.”
Watch: Austin Dillon: ‘Feels really darn good’ to earn Richmond redemption
Dillon was 28th in points, but the victory now locks him into the playoffs for the first time since the 2022 season. Alex Bowman finished second, but Dillon’s victory now puts Bowman on the playoff bubble ahead of the regular season finale at Daytona.
Three Penske cars rounded out the top five with Ryan Blaney third, Joey Logano fourth, and Austin Cindric fifth. Kyle Larson, Daniel Suarez, Josh Berry, Brad Keselowski, and Denny Hamlin filled out the rest of the top ten.
William Byron also clinched the regular season championship, securing 15 bonus points for the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.
The race featured significant tire falloff, turning the 400-lapper into an action-packed game of strategy from start to finish.
Stage 1
Ryan Preece, Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford
Photo by: Samuel Corum / Getty Images
Preece led the field to the green flag, eager to slice away at the 34 points between himself and the playoff bubble. While he held the advantage out front, the No. 60 team chose to run the entire first stage without pitting for fresh rubber.
A majority of cars did, and they quickly ran down the race leaders. Preece held onto the lead until 12 laps to go in the stage. Reddick and Hamlin, both on fresh tires, were battling side-by-side as they caught him.
Hamlin brushed the wall as Reddick passed both him and Preece. Wallace moved into second, making it a 23XI 1-2 finish to end the stage as Reddick claimed the stage win over Wallace. Hamlin ended up third, A. Dillon fourth, and Cindric fifth.
Preece fell all the way back to 15th, missing out on stage points, but he at least saved a set of tires for later.
Stage 2
During the stage break, Elliott, Hamlin and Allmendinger were all penalized for various issues on pit road, costing them valuable track position.
Wallace led the way on the restart as Bell moved into second on track. The second stage is over twice as long as the opening stage, and it was Preece who pitted first among the lead lap cars.
Most of the field chose to split the stage into thirds, and when the first round of pit stops cycled through, Preece was back out front. However, it was brief as Dillon and then Reddick took control of the race.
Wallace eventually ran him down, taking over the lead as the second round of stops began. However, this time, a caution flag threw a wrench into things.
Suarez was rapidly closing on Gibbs, moving him up the track just as Reddick was trying to pass on the outside. Gibbs collided with Reddick, sending him spinning while Larson led the race.
After pit stops, Larson restarted back in 15th with Preece 16th — both drivers had slightly fresher tires than those ahead of them.
After a chaotic restart, Preece rocketed into the top ten while Cody Ware spun and triggered another yellow.
The following restart was even wilder, as Busch got into Briscoe and triggered a multi-car pileup. Chase Elliott squeezed by the crash, only to get hooked after the fact, slamming the outside wall.
Wallace went on to win the stage over Suarez and Blaney.
Stage 3
Austin Dillon with team owner and grandfather Richard Childress
Photo by: Samuel Corum / Getty Images
McDowell led the way at the start of Stage 3 after a two-tire call, but it didn’t last as Dillon quickly moved into the race lead.
After the first green-flag cycle, Blaney got ahead of Dillon and held the race lead. Wallace fell out of contention after losing a wheel on pit road, but he managed to stop in the Joe Gibbs Racing stall, allowing the No. 19 pitted the car to rectify the issue.
Dillon eventually ran down Blaney in an epic battle for the race lead, pitting right after clearing the Penske driver. Blaney pitted four laps later, revealing the power of the undercut as he returned to the track roughly seven seconds behind.
Blaney sliced the margin down to about three seconds before the No. 12 fell off, eventually losing the runner-up spot to Bowman and allowing Dillon to secure a decisive victory.
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