Austin Dillon Punches Playoff Ticket with Richmond Victory

This time, there was no denying Austin Dillon at Richmond Raceway.

Dillon won Saturday's NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out 400, giving him back-to-back victories at Richmond. This time, there was no last-lap controversy, and Dillon can rest assured he will be in this year's playoffs.

Race Results: NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out 400 at Richmond

The driver of the No. 3 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing gained the upper hand over Ryan Blaney just before the final round of green-flag pit stops, then held on to that advantage and crossed the line ahead of Alex Bowman for the win.

Following the chaos of one year ago, where contact with Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin on the final lap led to NASCAR denying Dillon a berth in the playoff for his Richmond win, returning to victory lane at the Virginia track felt incredibly sweet for Dillon.

"That feels good," said Dillon. "I've got to thank the good Lord above, you know. I really wanted that one. Last year hurt really bad, just going through the whole process of it. This one feels so sweet."

Dillon was also racing with pain, as he acknowledged he has been racing through an injury in the last two weeks.

"I didn't feel great. I'm actually racing with a broken rib right now, for the last two weeks. Man, that was awesome."

The win is the sixth of Dillon's NASCAR Cup Series career. It marks the first time Dillon has won races in back-to-back seasons since 2017 and 2018, when he won the Coca-Cola 600 and Daytona 500 in consecutive seasons.

"Every one of these means so much to me and my grandfather, for all he's put up in believing in me," said Dillon. "There's been a lot of ups and downs. It could have been easy for him to change the driver in this 3 car. Today, it feels really darn good."

Alex Bowman hoped to chase down Dillon on the final green flag run, but was held up at times in lapped traffic and settled for a runner-up finish.

"I sure complained about [the traffic] on the radio, but that’s just part of what we do. Vented a little bit, but had a really good Ally 48 in the last run. Just burned the tires off too much in lapped 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, but unfortunately, didn’t get there. Blake and all the guys did a great job. Just came up a little bit short."

Without a win, Bowman will be in a pressure-packed situation next week at Daytona International Speedway. The Hendrick Motorsports driver will likely need to win the Coke Zero Sugar 400 in order to join Bowman and the rest of the field of 16 in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.

"Yeah, certainly really stressful on a lot of fronts," said Bowman. "I mean, I think with the way that race normally goes, it’s about a must-win at that point because I think you’re most likely going to have a new winner.

"Just need to go execute and try to win the race. That’s all we can really do. Looks like we maybe can get to the 45. Looks like he had a bad day. So possible there. Looks like a big gap, so just got to go to work. That’s all we can do at this point. That’s what we’ve been doing, right? We’ve been doing a lot of good things. Unfortunately, just one spot short tonight."

Meanwhile, Ryan Blaney was left perplexed following a third-place finish. After battling with Dillon for the top spot, he was surprised by how quickly grip went away for him near the end of the race.

"I think the track changed a lot," said Blaney. "I felt really, really good 10 laps into the last stage. I went from seventh to second. Man, I’m pretty good here. Then kind of got the lead there, then he got it back from me. I was kind of starting to go free.

"I think we stayed out like three or four laps longer than the 3, trying to have some tire at the end. I was out there cruising around. All of a sudden, I had no right rear tire left. I thought I was really trying to be disciplined, saving tire. Just lost it.

"So have to look back and see kind of where the track went. I think it changed a little bit there. Overall, a great showing for all of Team Penske, me, Austin and Joey running top five. By far the most fun I’ve ever had at this place, that's for sure."

While Dillon led 107 laps in Saturday's race, the driver who led the most laps failed to win at Richmond for the ninth consecutive event at the track. Bubba Wallace led 123 laps in the event, but a pit road miscue which led to him losing a tire following a pit stop cost him valuable time. Wallace ultimately finished 28th, two laps down.

The next event for the NASCAR Cup Series is the regular season finale, the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway. The green flag waves at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, August 23, with coverage on NBC, the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

-Photo credit: Samuel Corum/Getty Images