Austin Dillon and his team boss Justin Alexander had been paying attention.
They watched Cole Custer’s dramatic victory at Kentucky Speedway and did what they could to repeat that effort in their Sunday victory at Texas Motor Speedway, only without the four-wide pass to take the lead.
“Justin and I talked about what happened in Kentucky with Cole, the way they ran,” Dillon said after his victory. “If you can get the track position at some point, you can be fast. You saw that when we went out front, we had a hot rod.
Dillon’s No. 3 Chevrolet became a hot rod when Alexander decided to put two new tires in place of four after a warning for Quin Houff’s contact with Christopher Bell and Matt DiBenedetto. That decision allowed Dillon to restart in the front row, survive three late restarts, and win the third victory of his Cup career.
Dillon was asked if Sunday’s victory meant more than his victories in the 2017 Coca-Cola 600, which he won for fuel consumption, and in the 2018 Daytona 500, which he won after his contact in the last turn would destroy the leader Aric Almirola.
“Hell yeah,” Dillon declared. “We took it from them. That feels good. … Either way, we had to make it happen. Both are great triumphs in my career.
“This one, once again, we had to make it happen several times on older tires.”
Dillon added that “it was good to have the ball on my court, you know what I mean, to dictate the end of the race.”
The day was better for Dillon as he came to celebrate his victory in front of a rostrum that had an estimated 15,000-20,000 fans in it. TMS was just the fourth track that allowed fans to participate in a Cup race since the series returned to compete in May.
“It felt great,” said Dillon. “I think it would have been awkward without them. That’s why I parked it right in front of them and let them smell that smoke, the burnt rubber. Everything I did was for those fans. I think they loved it. “
After getting out of his number 3 car, Dillon learned from critics of his NASCAR career, which he had spent almost entirely racing for his grandfather at Richard Childress Racing.
“Not bad for a silver spoon boy, is it?” Dillon told NBCSN.
Does Dillon think he deserves more fan credit for his career success, which includes the Xfinity and Truck series titles?
“You have to have someone you don’t like,” said Dillon. “Maybe it’s just my experience, where I come from. But I also have many people who love me. It doesn’t really bother me at all. You can get in the car and love me … Okay. It is part of the sport. Those who hate sometimes will hate, but we will be fine. “
After his first Cup victory since February 2018 and his first NASCAR victory since an Xfinity victory in Michigan in June 2018, Dillon hoped to return to RCR headquarters in Welcome, North Carolina.
“When you cross those railroad tracks, there is a sign when you get in there,” Dillon said. “I can’t wait to get home because I know what that sign is going to say: RCR goes 1‑2, and Team 3 brings home a victory in Texas.
“That is my favorite activity, (going) home with all the hard-working employees who have believed in me, those people are the ones that matter most to me.”
Follow @Daniel_McFadin and on Facebook.
