Livescore
Austin Dillon’s stunning victory in the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway has completely changed the NASCAR Cup Series playoff picture.
Dillon came into Richmond out of the two-week break in 32nd in points, with no top-5 finishes and two top-10 finishes. But he is a five-time Cup Series race winner who has shown plenty of speed and ability in the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.
That being said, Dillon wrecked Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin off the final corner to get the win, which will make him a polarizing figure and a target in the playoffs. Logano and Hamlin both were unhappy in postrace interviews with USA Network, with Hamlin complaining of shoulder pain after getting turned and hitting the wall sharply off the corner.
Kyle Larson’s regular season points lead is now down to five points over Tyler Reddick and six over Chase Elliott.
Here’s the full playoff picture after Sunday’s race in Richmond:
REACTION: What Denny Hamlin said about Austin Dillon, NASCAR after wreck-filled Richmond finish
MORE REACTION: Joey Logano calls Austin Dillon ‘piece of crap’ for late wreck in NASCAR Richmond win
EVEN MORE REACTION: What Austin Dillon said about wrecking Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin to win NASCAR Richmond race
NASCAR Cup playoff picture: Who is in, out heading to Michigan
Top 16 advance to playoffs
This season’s winners (locked into playoffs)
1: Kyle Larson (4 wins, 28 playoff points, regular season points leader)
2. Christopher Bell (3 wins, 25 playoff points)
3. Denny Hamlin (3 wins, 21 playoff points)
4. William Byron (3 wins, 16 playoff points)
5. Ryan Blaney (2 wins, 12 playoff points)
6. Tyler Reddick (1 win, 8 playoff points)
7. Austin Cindric (1 win, 7 playoff points)
8. Chase Elliott (1 win, 6 playoff points)
9. Joey Logano (1 win, 6 playoff points)
10. Daniel Suarez (1 win, 6 playoff points)
11. Brad Keselowski (1 win, 5 playoff points)
12. Alex Bowman (1 win, 5 playoff points)
13. Austin Dillon (1 win, 5 playoff points)
Wild card playoff points standings
14. Martin Truex Jr. (+78 ahead of Buescher and Chastain)
15. Ty Gibbs (+19)
16. Bubba Wallace (+3)
——————————————————
17. Chris Buescher (-3 behind Wallace)
18. Ross Chastain (-3)
19. Chase Briscoe (-103)
20. Kyle Busch (-122)
NASCAR Cup Series remaining regular season schedule
-
Aug. 18: FireKeepers Casino 400, Michigan International Speedway (1:30 p.m., USA Network)
-
Aug. 24: Coke Zero Sugar 400, Daytona International Speedway (6:30 p.m., NBC)
-
Sept. 1: Cook Out Southern 500, Darlington Raceway (5 p.m., USA Network)
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: NASCAR playoff picture: Cup points standings after Richmond race
Read the full article here
