Dillon equals a Earnhardt feat with his convincing victory at Richmond

In his playoff-clinching victory at Richmond Raceway, Austin Dillon shared some NASCAR history on the venerable short track with the most famous driver of the No. 3 Chevrolet. Dale Earnhardt, the late seven-time Cup Series champion who amassed 76 victories in a Hall of Fame career, was the last Richard Childress Racing driver to win consecutive Cup races at the 0.75-mile oval in Richmond, Virginia, until Dillon did so Saturday night. The comparisons to Earnhardt and whispers of nepotism have dogged Dillon since the grandson of team owner Richard Childress was tabbed 11 years ago to drive the car number synonymous with a NASCAR icon. "I could win 50 races, and they'll say my grandpa gave me the ride," Dillon said with a smile. "They're not wrong. He did. He did a great job putting me in it. Hopefully, I'm paying off on his investment at some point." Richmond was only his sixth victory in 433 Cup starts, but Dillon said snapping a 37-race winless streak was "one of the best because it was pretty much a butt kicking." He led 107 of 400 laps, including the final 49, and cruised to a 2.471-second victory over Alex Bowman. Dillon never led for more than 35 laps in any of his previous Cup wins. He won the 2018 Daytona 500 by leading only the last lap after knocking Aric Almirola aside two turns from the checkered flag. Last year's win at Richmond was his most controversial as Dillon wrecked Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin on the final lap, and NASCAR consequently revoked his playoff eligibility. There was no such drama Saturday night, when Dillon cleanly outdueled 2023 Cup champion Ryan Blaney just before his final pit stop. "Anybody that says Austin doesn't deserve to be at this level, look at the 30 or 40 laps he raced side by side with Ryan Blaney," said Richard Boswell, Dillon's crew chief. "He raced door to door with a Cup champion. He beat him. Yeah, we need to run better. We need to be more consistent. But anybody that says he just can't do it is not looking at the facts." The statistics are less convincing about Dillon's championship chances. Richmond was the first top-five finish in 25 races this year for Dillon, who is ranked 25th in the points standings and in the Cup playoffs for the sixth time in 12 seasons. He has won championships in the Truck and Xfinity series, with 22 victories across NASCAR's top three national circuits. "Austin has earned his way," Childress said. "He won races in everything he's ever driven. They're going to give you criticism because he is my grandson. But we take it. It's just the way life is. You can't be burdened down by what people say. Do what you do and move forward. He's won his share." Dillon, 35, said he cried last year during RCR's unsuccessful appeal of the NASCAR penalty that took him out of the playoffs, noting he legitimately had passed Hamlin and Logano before a late caution erased a comfortable lead. The Richmond repeat validated Dillon's belief that he belongs in NASCAR's premier series. "I think I get the credit I deserve," he said. "I have some loyal fans. We're kind of like a fighter. We don't go away. I think a lot of people think that guy is going to go away at some point. I like that underdog mentality a little bit." He also likes his new pairing with Boswell, who joined Richard Childress Racing after taking Chase Briscoe to the 2024 playoffs. Boswell made a pivotal call to pit with 59 laps remaining just after Dillon took the lead from Blaney. "I have a great team right now, probably one of the strongest we've built," Dillon said. "We want to make this organization as strong as some of the top teams. We scrap and claw and figure out ways to win. I think we have fun when we do that." Playoff outlook Dillon became the 14th winner to lock into the 16-driver playoff field heading into the Aug. 23 regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway. There will be at least one winless driver to qualify for the playoffs, and Tyler Reddick and Bowman occupy the final two provisional spots in the points standings. Reddick was on track to clinch a playoff spot at Richmond after leading 41 laps, but he finished 34th after being caught in a crash that started when Daniel Suarez bumped Ty Gibbs. "It's pretty much worst-case scenario for us," Reddick said. "We can thank Daniel Suarez for that. Went from a car that was one of the fastest on the track to one of the slowest." Bubba Wallace, who is teamed with Reddick at the 23XI Racing squad co-owned by NBA great Michael Jordan, led a race-high 123 laps in his No. 23 Toyota but finished two laps down in 28th after losing a tire during a pit stop. Regular-season champion With a 12th-place finish, William Byron clinched the regular-season title as Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott finished last. Byron will be awarded 15 playoff points that will provide a good cushion to make the championship finale at Phoenix Raceway for the third consecutive season. "It's huge," Byron said. "No one's running away with this thing, which is going to create a really crazy playoffs. I feel like we're in rhythm." ___ AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing