NASCAR
NCS Race Recap: Austin Dillon erases last year’s heartbreak, punches ticket to Playoffs
By Holly Cain
NASCAR Wire Service
RICHMOND, VA (August 17, 2025) – Austin Dillon claimed his sixth career NASCAR Cup Series race trophy, earned a 2025 Playoff bid and just as importantly, he enjoyed some sweet redemption in Saturday night’s Cook Out 400 at Richmond (Va.) Raceway.
Dillon led 107 laps on the night, including the final 49 to claim the victory and automatic berth in the 16-driver Playoff field – vaulting from a 25th place position in the championship standings before the green flag to a championship berth at the checkered flag in a clutch effort from the 2018 Daytona 500 winner and his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing team.
It was the most laps Dillon had led all season and marks the third time he’s won a race in the closing weeks of the regular season.
It was a huge statement for Dillon, 35, who won this race last year, but was later ruled ineligible to participate in the Playoffs after receiving a penalty from NASCAR for aggressive driving in the final laps at the historic three-quarter mile Richmond track.
“Man, that feels good, got to thank the good Lord above,” said Dillon, who finished a healthy 2.471-seconds ahead of Playoff contender, Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman, who leaves Richmond now holding the last championship points position with one regular season race remaining next week at the always-unpredictable Daytona International Speedway.
“I really wanted that one,” Dillon said after an emotional hug from his brother Ty, who finished 18th on Saturday. “Last year hurt really bad just going through the whole process of it. But this one feels so sweet. Man, I love Richmond.
“God has timing. His timing is the best timing. … It’s just so special. Every one of these means so much to me. My grandfather [NASCAR Hall of Fame team owner Richard Childress], for all that he’s put up in believing in me, because there’s been a lot of ups and downs, could have been easy for him to change the drivers in this 3-car. Today it feels really darn good.”
While encouraged with his strong showing, the runner-up Bowman was also frustrated that lapped traffic in the closing laps impeded him from making more of a final run at Dillon. He now sits in the final Playoff transfer position by 29 points over Roush Fenway Keselowski’s Chris Buescher.
“A couple favors,” Bowman responded when asked what more he needed to be able to contend with Dillon. “I sure complained about it on the radio, but that’s just part of what we do, so…Vented a little bit, but had a really good Ally-48 [car] in the last run. Just broke the tires off too much in lap traffic. Didn’t get any breaks. That made me kind of work the rears harder than I need to.
“Just need to be a little better through there to get to him. I certainly think we had the better car. Unfortunately, didn’t get there. [Crew chief] Blake [Harris] and all the guys did a great job. Just came up a little bit short.”
Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron formally clinched the Regular Season Championship with his 12th-place finish – a huge upward swing in momentum considering he was collected in the race’s only major incident, a 10-car crash on lap 199 of the 200-lap race. He said his No. 24 Chevrolet suffered only some light splitter damage in the incident and was able to regain track position steadily through the night.
“We had honestly some really good runs tonight,” said Byron, who claimed his second consecutive Daytona 500 win in this year’s season-opener and has led the points standings for 20 of the first 25 weeks of the season.
“Feels great. Really the best 12th place finish I’ve ever had. We came. In here and just did a solid job. We qualified solid, but this is definitely our toughest race track. We had a solid plan and executed and it feels good. This team has worked hard.”
A Team Penske Ford Mustang trio rounded out the top-five finishing positions. Ryan Blaney, the 2023 series champion was third in the No. 12 Team Penske Ford – the first time in his stellar career he’s had a top-five run at Richmond. His teammate, reigning series champion Joey Logano turned in an impressive fourth-place finish in the No. 22 Team Penske Ford after starting last (38th) in the field. And Austin Cindric completed the impressive team effort in the No. 2 Team Penske Ford Mustang.
“I always look at different ways to get around here every time I come back,” Penske said of the Richmond oval. “I don’t think it’s a secret. I struggle really bad here. We work really hard to try to figure out how can we improve, like how can I improve, how can we work on the car to figure out what will mesh.
“Just a big effort by all the 12 boys, big group effort. Definitely think we’re creeping up on it. Hopefully we can keep going.”
Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson, Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez, Wood Brothers Racing’s Josh Berry – a Penske partner team, Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing’s Brad Keselowski and the hometown favorite, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin rounded out the top-10.
If there is no new winner at Daytona next week, both 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick and Bowman stand to transfer into the Playoffs on points. Reddick, who won the opening stage and led 41 laps early finished 34th, four laps down after his car was hit in tight racing. He is 15th in the Playoff standings, with a 60-point edge above the Playoff cutoff line while Bowman is 16th – 29 points to the good.
Reddick’s 23XI Racing teammate Bubba Wallace, who won at Indianapolis Motor Speedway three weeks ago, led a race best 123 laps and won the second stage, but a pit road mishap derailed his run up front. He finished 28th, two laps down.
Byron’s Hendrick teammate Chase Elliott – Byron’s closest challenger for the Regular Season Championship title and the 15 Playoff bonus points payday – was involved in a 10-car accident mid-race and suffered his first DNF of the season.
“It’s just unfortunate, we had a good start to the race,” said Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. “We kind of got on the wrong end there in the beginning and lost some track position. We got behind the No. 19 (Chase Briscoe) and got a penalty. I thought we were in a pretty good spot right there. We finally got on some better tires and we were making our way through there well, so I was excited to see where that was going to go, but unfortunately, we didn’t get the chance.”
The incident and Elliott’s 38th-place finish coupled with Byron’s 12th-place run sealed the title for Byron.
The NASCAR Cup Series returns to action next Saturday night under the lights at the iconic Daytona International Speedway in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 (7:30 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Harrison Burton is the defending race winner. Five of the last seven winners of this race were celebrating their first win of the year.
BROOKLYN, MI (June 6, 2026) – Kris Wright and the No. 81 McAnally Hilgemann Racing team a hoping for better days after a frustrating DQS Solutions & Staffing 250 powered by Precision Vehicle Logistics Saturday at Michigan International Speedway.
Wright started 27th in the No. 81 iHeart Radio Silverado RST on the 2-mile oval. The race was only 7-laps old when Wright was involved in an accident, causing him to lose a lap while his team made repairs.
Wright was quickly back on pit road on Lap 18 after a left rear tire issue required additional work by his crew. Wright returned to the race three laps down at that point.
“Brutal day for our iHeartRadio team,” said Wright. “The No. 81 crew worked hard all weekend to get speed in the truck, and we never really had the opportunity to show what we were capable of.”
Fuel-only pit stops during the races final stage enabled Wright and his team to finish 31st. Corey Heim was the race winner.
Fan favorite Cleetus McFarland, in only his second series start, rallied from a late race spin that brought out one of seven yellow flags – and finished 25th on the lead lap.
The trucks are off next week and will return to action June 19 in the inaugural NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Race in San Diego on the Naval Base Coronado (7 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
“I’m looking forward to getting to San Diego in a couple of weeks,” said Wright. “Road courses have always suited my driving style, and it’ll be special to spend the weekend in Coronado celebrating the military members who will be in attendance.”
By Holly Cain
NASCAR Wire Service
BROOKLYN, MI (June 6. 2026) – Reigning NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series champion Corey Heim held off a dramatic checkered flag charge – in lapped traffic – from his TRICON Garage teammate Kaden Honeycutt to claim his first career win at the iconic Michigan International Speedway in Saturday’s DQS Solutions & Staffing 250 powered by Precision Vehicle Logistics.
It’s Heim’s 26th career victory, but first ever on the two-mile Michigan high banks giving him series wins now on 22 different tracks – second best all-time only NASCAR Hall of Famer Ron Hornaday Jr. has won at 31 venues. It’s Heim’s third win in only five truck starts this season and comes a week after announcing he will join the championship-leading 23XI Racing organization in the NASCAR Cup Series for 2027.
Heim’s No. 1 TRICON Garage Toyota passed the day’s most dominant truck driven by NASCAR Cup Series regular Carson Hocevar with 15 laps remaining and crossed the line only .065-second ahead of Honeycutt’s No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota – the truck Heim drove to the championship last season.
He immediately thanked Honeycutt for the push forward in the final laps – his only laps out front all day – acknowledging the help put just enough distance on Hocevar, who led a race best 65 of the 126 laps.
“We discussed it pre-race that we were going to race it out in the end and that’s what we did,” the 23-year-old Georgia native Heim said. “He tried to get to my right rear there which would have probably won the race and I had to protect it.
“Props to Kaden there and to [fellow Toyota driver] Christopher Bell, I don’t know where he ended up but he was strong all day. The last couple laps there at the end, were pretty awesome.
“That was a lot of fun, I had a blast,” he added.
The 21-year-old Honeycutt certainly kept Heim honest in the closing run to the checkered, hoping to earn his second career win – matching his work at Watkins Glen, N.Y. in May.
“Good race there at the end, us five up there and I’m sure it was a good race for the fans so that was good,” Honeycutt said. “It was unfortunate I didn’t get the win there. Just feel like I’ve lost too many of them on my part so I think that’s what bothers me the most.”
Although boosted by a strong showing all day at his “home track,” the Michigan-native Carson Hocevar was clearly disappointed with his finish, explaining his No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet truck had been overheating all day. He was hoping to win for the hometown crowd and especially for his mother, who is celebrating her birthday this weekend.
“Everyone did a good job,” he said, adding, “Just sucks we didn’t close it out there. Felt like I could have done a better job but don’t know what I could have done differently. Would like to see what I would have had full power.
“A lot of reasons to win here at Michigan.”
Front Row Motorsports teammates Chandler Smith and Layne Riggs rounded out the top-five – an especially valiant effort from Riggs, who went a lap down early after a pit stop issue. A winner in the previous two races, Riggs’ comeback to fifth place keeps him atop the championship standings by 26 over Honeycutt.
Bell finished sixth in the No. 62 Halmar Friesen Toyota after sweeping both stage wins and leading 37 laps – one of six race leaders on the afternoon. Fellow NASCAR Cup Series driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr was seventh, followed by Connor Mosack, Jake Garcia and Tyler Ankrum.
Fan favorite Cleetus McFarland rallied from a late race spin that brought out one of seven yellow flags – and finished 25th on the lead lap in only his second series start.
After six consecutive races, the trucks go into an off-week and will return to action June 19 in the inaugural NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Race at San Diego on the Naval Base Coronado (7 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
By Holly Cain
NASCAR Wire Service
LEBANON, TN – Call it victorious whiplash.
Race polesitter Denny Hamlin took the lead at the drop of the green flag – was penalized and re-set to last in the 38-car field for jumping that start – then rallied his way forward again in the ensuing 300 laps to be in front for the checkered flag of Sunday night’s NASCAR Cup Series Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway.
After a back-and-forth among teammates on a final restart with four laps remaining – featuring a three-wide last-lap challenge for the win among three Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas – Hamlin delivered the manufacturer its first victory at the 1.33-mile Nashville concrete oval, his No. 11 Toyota finishing a slight .115-second ahead of teammates Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe.
“The 20 [Bell] and 19 [Briscoe] were battling so hard on that first corner it just let me get to the inside of the 20 at the first corner after the restart and from there, side-by-side with the 20,’’ Hamlin, 45, said describing the dramatic final laps that resulted in his 62nd career win.
“He [Bell] drove in so deep on that last lap into [turn] one that it just allowed me to barely clear off of [turn] two.
“What an unbelievable day starting first, going to last and then back to first.’’
For Bell, the close finish marked his second runner-up showing in as many weeks – simultaneously frustrating and encouraging. As with Hamlin, he recovered from an early race challenge – a pit stop miscue dropping his No 20 JGR Toyota from running among the top five to 30th place for a restart just before the finish of Stage 1.
“It was great racing, I hope the fans enjoyed that,’’ Bell said. “Just disappointed in myself, disappointed for my team. We brought a great race car and I didn’t get the job done.’’
The finish was certainly indicative of the close racing, important strategy calls and just flat-out team speed ultimately necessary to finally settle a race that featured a race record 31 lead changes among a record 15 drivers.
The race was delayed almost two hours because of weather, but when the action resumed, there was plenty of drama and intrigue.
The sold-out Nashville crowd issued a silent salute on lap eight to the late two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch, 41, a beloved four-time Nashville winner (twice each in the CRAFTSMAN Trucks and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series), who passed away last week of sepsis.
In the laps thereafter, the intense action quickly settled in. Hamlin’s 57 laps out front were a race high, but nine different drivers led double digit laps. And 11 caution flags affected strategy throughout the night.
Hyak Motorsports’ Ricky Stenhouse Jr finished fourth in the No. 47 Chevrolet, followed by a career-best fifth-place effort by Trackhouse Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen. The popular New Zealand road course ace turned in one of his best flag-to-flag oval performances running among the top 10 all night. His 12 laps led in the No. 97 Trackhouse Chevrolet were most for him on an oval track.
Reigning championship leader, 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick and Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott were scored sixth and seventh but were collected in an accident just after taking the checkered flag in a hard push by the field to the finish.
Last year’s race winner, Ryan Blaney was eighth followed by Zane Smith, whose No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford was leading until 12 laps to go. Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar was 10th. Hendrick’s Kyle Larson – the reigning series champion – led 56 laps (only one lap less than Hamlin) but finished 23rd.
The race featured two first-time stage winners on the season – Kaulig Racing’s A.J. Allmendinger (Stage 1) and last week’s Charlotte race winner, Spire Motorsports’ Daniel Suárez (Stage 2).
With his sixth-place finish Reddick remains atop the standings, 97 points ahead of Hamlin and 174 points up on Blaney in third place.
The series moves a few hours north to Michigan Speedway for next Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 (3 p.m. ET, Amazon Prime, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Denny Hamlin is the defending race winner.
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