By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer
Austin Dillon topped off a big day at Homestead-Miami Speedway with a top-10 finish in the Dixie Vodka 400.
The NASCAR Cup Series driver of the No. 3 Dow / Behr Ultra Scuff Defense Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE broke into the top-10 in the second half of the 400-mile race. Dillon found grip along the outside wall, propelling him forward.
The momentum of the Richard Childress Racing driver was broken after an uncontrolled tire incurred a penalty. As a result, Dillon started the final stage, after a quick caution, at the rear of the field. He then spent the remaining 92 laps clawing his way back through the field.
After a cycle of green flag pit stops, Dillon was inside the top-10. As several competitors encountered trouble, he kept his nose clean. In the closing laps, Dillon climbed to seventh, where he took the checkered flag.
“We took our No. 3 Dow / Behr Ultra Scuff Defense Chevrolet to a top-ten,” explained Dillon. “That was a fun race for the Dow Coatings team. We were not good to start. We started from the back a couple of times. Made big adjustments – Justin (Alexander, Crew Chief) made a good adjustment about halfway through the race to allow us to get some stage points.
“Things started turning for us and we got a good restart. And then a caution came out, pitted and we had a tire that got away. Unfortunate, but we kept our heads down and dug hard. We were able to come all the way back to P-7. Strong run for our team.”
Dillon started the race in 16th following a draw for the starting grid. To his benefit, two lengthy delays for weather allowed the team the opportunity to discuss, while maintaining NASCAR’s social distancing guidelines, what adjustments to make. Crew chief Justin Alexander then led the team towards their stage two resurgence.
Just hours before he earned the top-10 finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Dillon and his wife, Whitney, welcomed their son, Ace RC Dillon into the world.
The new father’s seventh-place finish was his fourth top-10 finish in 2020 and the 44th of his Cup Series career. Dillon is now 16th in the points standings, 182-points behind leader Kevin Harvick. He also holds the final playoff berth with a two-point margin over teammate Tyler Reddick.
The next race for NASCAR is the unpredictable nature of Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, June 21.