RICHMOND, Va. — Here’s a look at the winners and losers from Sunday’s Cup race at Richmond.
WINNERS
Austin Dillon — He snapped a 37-race winless streak with his second consecutive victory at Richmond — and did it without the controversy of last year’s race. Dillon led 107 laps (he had led only eight laps all season). That also marked the most laps the No. 3 car has led in a Cup race since Dale Earnhardt led 107 laps in the 1998 Daytona 500.
Richard Childress has been vocal about his organization’s performance, but Saturday night he rejoiced in his grandson’s win.
Team Penske — Ryan Blaney’s third-place finish marked his series-best fifth consecutive top 10. Blaney also led a Penske contingent that saw its three cars place in the top five — the first time the organization has done that since July 2021 at New Hampshire. Joey Logano finished fourth after starting last and Austin Cindric placed fifth.
Blaney ‘just lost it’ in Cook Out 400 at Richmond
Ryan Blaney speaks after finishing third in the Cook Out 400, explaining what went wrong toward the end of the race and why this was “by far the most fun” he has ever had at Richmond Raceway, a track he has struggled at.
William Byron — His 12th-place finish was good enough to clinch the regular season championship after Chase Elliott was involved in a crash and finished last in the 38-car field.
Byron ‘feels really good’ after Richmond Cup race
William Byron was all smiles after finishing 12th in the Cook Out 400, staying positive even though he was involved in an 11-car wreck 198 laps into the race that began with contact between Kyle Busch and Ross Chastain.
Alex Bowman — His runner-up finish marked his sixth top-10 finish in the last eight races and kept him in a playoff spot with one race left in the regular season.
Bowman: ‘Stressful’ week coming up before Daytona
Alex Bowman discusses his second-place finish in the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway, sharing what he did well, why he is proud of his team and how he will prepare for next week’s race at Daytona International Speedway.
LOSERS
Tyler Reddick — Richmond was a “worse-case scenario” as Reddick described it. Daniel Suarez got into Ty Gibbs, causing Gibbs to come up the track and hit Reddick, sending him into the wall. Reddick went on to finish 34th. With Austin Dillon taking the win and a playoff spot, the cutline moved up. Reddick is only 29 points ahead of Alex Bowman for the final playoff spot. If there is a new winner at Daytona and Bowman outscores Reddick by 29 points, Reddick will miss the playoffs a year after being the regular season champion.
Tyler Reddick finished 34th after his car was damaged in an incident at Richmond.
Joe Gibbs Racing — The organization had won 10 of the last 18 Richmond races before Saturday but didn’t lead a lap this time. Denny Hamlin was the top-finishing JGR car in 10th on a night that slow pit stops saddled him. Chase Briscoe was involved in a crash and finished 13th. Ty Gibbs had brake issues and two pit road speeding penalties before he placed 18th. Christopher Bell had a commitment line violation and finished 21st.
RFK Racing — Austin Dillon’s win knocked Chris Buescher out of the final playoff spot heading to Daytona. Buescher finished 30th. Ryan Preece started on the pole and placed 35th after braking issues. Brad Keselowski, who must win to make the playoffs, placed ninth. RFK Racing must have a driver win next week at Daytona or it won’t have any driver in the playoffs.
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