Austin Dillon returns to the Cup playoffs.
Dillon held teammate Tyler Reddick in a two-lap sprint to finish to get his first victory of 2020 and his first victory since the 2018 Daytona 500 Miles.
Dillon took the lead after his team decided a two-tire stop was the best way to maintain position on the track after Quin Houff inexplicably crashed on lap 304 as the teams attempted different pit stop strategies.
Dillon found himself second after that crash behind Reddick, who only took fuel, and took the lead after the subsequent restart. He then had to wait two more restarts after warnings were given to Denny Hamlin within the last 30 laps.
Hamlin crashed with Alex Bowman on lap 318 of the 334-lap race, and then crashed only after that. The final shock created the last sprint to 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 non-existent in Texas on Sunday. New tires were much less important than clean air throughout the race, as drivers were able to relatively maintain position on the track.
Like Kentucky, most of the race was a break 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 while competing for the lead on lap 217 shortly after a restart. Blaney bottled the field behind him and Busch stepped out of Aric Almirola’s bumper. When Busch turned, he pulled teammate Martin Truex Jr. out and Truex then picked up a bunch of cars in the front stretch after hitting the wall.
Houff causes chaos
A ridiculously bad move by Quin Houff put Dillon in position to win. Hamlin faced two tires ahead of Ryan Blaney and appeared to be poised to inherit the lead when the race ended when the cars in front of them had to make their final pit stops.
But Houff ruined any chance of Hamlin and Blaney having a victory when he tried to play from the middle of Turn 4 with Christopher Bell inside.
Houff bounced off Bell and then Matt DiBenedetto and hit the wall. Calling the maneuver a rookie mistake would be extremely generous. And it’s a great example of how Houff, who started all 18 Cup Series races in 2020, is more than 30 points behind Kyle Larson in the standings. Larson, as you probably know, was fired after just four races after he said a racial slur during a virtual race.
Some good drivers will miss the playoffs
Dillon entered Jimmie Johnson’s 24-point race Sunday for the playoff spot. That was after Cole Custer surprisingly won at Kentucky after entering career 25 in qualifying.
With the drivers securing the playoff spots with a win, there will be some very good winless drivers who will miss out on the postseason thanks to Dillon and Custer victories.
William Byron and Jimmie Johnson were involved in crashes on Sunday and Johnson is currently ahead of Byron for the playoff finish by two points. Erik Jones is also sitting outside of the playoffs alongside Reddick and Bubba Wallace.
RCR’s 1-2
The 1-2 final 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 finals. Especially after Kevin Harvick left the team after the 2013 season.
Dillon’s victory is only the fourth since Harvick left and the team’s fifteenth since finishing 1-2. Of those 15 wins since Bowyer’s victory at Talladega, nine of them were from 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 classification
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
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Nick Bromberg He is a writer for Yahoo Sports.
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