BRISTOL, Tenn: Austin Dillon didn’t win Sunday’s Food City Dirt Race at the Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, but the Richard Childress Racing driver sure left nothing on the table.
After a strong NASCAR Cup Series qualifying heat race on Saturday afternoon, Dillon started his No. 8 BREZTRI Chevrolet Camaro from the outside pole and from the drop of the green flag, the four-time Cup Series winner kept his nose clean and sniffed the race lead throughout Stage 1 and 2.
Maintaining track position in the heart of Stage 3, Dillon appeared to have the better car and began challenging the two leaders of Christopher Bel and Chase Briscoe for control of the race, but as the race winded down — track conditions changed, as did the handling of Dillon’s race car.
Still, Dillon was able to battle through a late race restart to climb back to third and earn the top-finishing Chevrolet honors in the lone dirt Cup race of the season. In his previous two Bristol Dirt efforts, Dillon had a track best of 21st in the inaugural race in 2021.
Dillon’s podium result on Sunday night marked the first top-10 for the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing team since finishing ninth at Auto Club (Calif.) Speedway in February. It was Dillon’s return to the top-five since finishing fourth last October at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway.
“I just have to thank SMI for all of the hard work they’ve done with this dirt racing,” said Dillon after the race. “I don’t care what anybody says, that was an amazing show throughout the field. I felt like it was some great racing.”
Even after finishing second in Stage 1 and Stage 2, Dillon said he could not get his No. 8 BREZTRI Chevrolet Camaro to run as close to the wall like he wanted too – especially in the closing laps to challenge Bell and Tyler Reddick for the win.
“Just wasn’t good enough against the fence when it mattered,” explained Dillon. “We needed the track to kind of go back to our run. Right there at the end, we were kind of circling the middle and the car was really good. The No. 3 BREZTRI Chevy was fast, just not enough at the end.”
Despite not getting his fifth career Cup Series victory, Dillon said his finish on Sunday and earning a whopping 52 points overall was important for building momentum for the ongoing grueling stretch for the Cup Series that continues until mid-June.
“Have to thank the good Lord above,” added Dillon. “It’s Easter and that’s what we’re really here to celebrate. But man, that was a fun time. I really wish we could have brought home the No. 3 BREZTRI Chevy into victory lane.
“We were second in both stages and getting a third-place finish was big for us. Getting the momentum rolling. I had a lot of fun out there.” ‘
Heading to Martinsville (Va.) Speedway where he finished third last April — Dillon sits 22nd in the championship standings, 26 points behind Chris Buescher who occupies the final Playoff spot in 16th.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01 or email at: [email protected].
