By: Zach Catanzareti, Staff Writer
Despite having no top fives since his Daytona 500 triumph in February, that’s just where Sunday ended for Austin Dillon at Michigan International Speedway.
Starting the Consumers Energy 400 from the fifth position, the qualifying effort alone raised expectations for the Richard Childress Racing team ahead of 200 laps. The start tied his best of the season and was only his second top-five start since 2016.
And he wasn’t alone, as teammate Ryan Newman followed the No. 3 in the sixth spot off the start.
But for Dillon, the day got even better from there. The short green runs saw Dillon maintain decent track position before he started shining on restarts. The No. 3 finished Stage 2 in fifth spot before jumping to second spot on the final restart of the day on lap 144.
At that point, the fifth-year RCR driver knew he had a shot at victory.
“Man! We had a fast car,” Dillon said. “I got to battle there with [Kevin] Harvick, that’s awesome. I’m just so proud of the guys for having a car capable of doing that.”
Though behind Harvick’s pace, late pit strategy saw Dillon take two tires under green. The move put Dillon ahead of Harvick before the eventual race winner passed him with 25 laps to go.
Sinking into second place, Dillon’s strong day looked to be in question when he complained of a possible loose wheel with just two laps to go. The vibration was enough to slow Dillon’s speed, putting him down to fourth place at the checkered flag.
“That really stunk,” he said. “We were really in position where if something happened to the No. 4, we could win the race. With two to go I went into Turn 3, missed the corner, went down the straightaway it was shaking like a tire was unraveling or a loose wheel.
“I didn’t want to lose this great finish we had in front of us, brought it home in the top five at least.”
Despite the late disappointment, Dillon leaves Michigan in a good mood. The run was his best of 2018 and it comes just three races left until the playoffs.
“It’s great momentum for the team,” he said. “Pit crew was amazing all day. It just feels good. We have this capability when we put our best days together. We have a great opportunity this year being in the playoffs.”