Livescore
Austin Dillon brought the No. 3 back to victory lane with a move reminiscent of the driver that made the car famous.
Dillon took out race leader Joey Logano and then Denny Hamlin just before the checkered flag to win at the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway to snap a 68-game winless streak. It’s a move Dale Earnhardt would have made in his prime.
Here are our winners and losers after the race as the NASCAR Cup Series is now three races from the start of the playoffs.
Winners
Ross Chastain
Chastain would be outside looking in on the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs if they started next week. Chastain finished fifth to salvage the weekend. It’s his third top-five finish of the season.
WHO IS IN, WHO IS OUT: NASCAR playoff picture: Cup Series points standings after Richmond
SCOREBOARD: Who won NASCAR Cup race in Richmond? Winner is Austin Dillon, plus full results
Austin Dillon
Checkers or wreckers, right? Dillon snapped a 68-race winless streak to win the Cook Out 400 at Richmond. He passed Denny Hamlin late for the race lead. But a late wreck caused by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. forced a green-white-checkered finish. Things got crazy from there, but Dillon found a way to win. Now, will NASCAR punish the rough finish? Time will tell.
Bubba Wallace
Wallace is clinging to a playoff spot, three points ahead of Chris Buescher and Ross Chastain for the final NASCAR Cup Series playoff spot. Wallace finished fourth in his 23XI Racing Toyota at Richmond.
Losers
Denny Hamlin
OK, how is a person that finishes second, a loser? Well, Hamlin could see the finish line and his fourth victory of the year. It would have tied Kyle Larson for the most this NASCAR Cup season. But Dillon hooked the right rear of Hamlin’s No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to put him into the wall to eliminate Hamlin’s chances of winning.
Joey Logano
Logano was about a straight away from winning his second points race of the 2024 NASCAR Cup season and first since his June 30 victory at Nashville Superspeedway. Then Austin Dillon came rumbling into him, wrecking him on his way to his first win in two years.
Martin Truex Jr.
Truex qualified on the front row beside polesitter Denny Hamlin. He had one of the dominant cars until he became the first car to leave the race after an engine failure. He finished last at 37th place.
Reach Tom Kreager at 615-259-8089 or tkreager@tennessean.com and on the X platform @Kreager.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: NASCAR Richmond race winners, losers: Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano wreck late
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