Austin Dillon won the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway after leading 107 laps and secured his spot in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. The victory moved Dillon from 25th to 14th in the championship standings, marking his sixth career Cup Series win, all while competing with a fractured rib over the past two weeks.

The win represents personal vindication for Dillon, who won this same race last year but was excluded from the Playoffs due to a NASCAR penalty for deliberate contact in the closing laps against Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin.

Photo By Nascar Media

Dillon Reveals After Win He Raced with Broken Rib

Dillon revealed after the race that he has been competing with a fractured rib for the past two weeks, adding context to his performance on the three-quarter mile Virginia oval.

"I haven't been feeling well all week. I've been racing with a broken rib for two weeks," Dillon confessed during the post-race press conference.

The driver of the #3 Winchester Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet controlled the final segments of the race after Bubba Wallace, who had led 123 laps, lost positions due to pit road problems. Wallace finished 28th, two laps down.

Byron Secures Regular Season Championship as Elliott Finishes 38th in Crash

Byron officially clinched the Regular Season Championship despite being involved in the only major incident of the night: a 10-car crash on lap 199 of the scheduled 400. Byron finished 12th after recovering positions, suffering only minor damage to the front spoiler.

"Honestly, we had a really good car tonight," explained Byron. "It feels great. Really the best 12th place finish I've ever had. We came here and did a solid job." Byron has led the standings for 20 of the first 25 weeks of the season.

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Team Penske Places Three Ford Mustangs in Positions 3-5

Team Penske completed a solid weekend by placing three Ford Mustangs in the top 5. Ryan Blaney finished third, marking his first top-5 performance at Richmond in his career. Joey Logano charged from the last starting position (38th) to fourth place, while Austin Cindric rounded out the top five.

"I'm always looking for different ways to get around here every time I come back," commented Blaney about Richmond. "I don't think it's a secret that I struggle here a lot. We worked really hard to try to figure out how we can get better." The top 10 was completed by Kyle Larson (6th), Daniel Suárez (7th), Josh Berry (8th), Brad Keselowski (9th) and Denny Hamlin (10th).

Bowman Holds Final Playoff Transfer Spot with 29-Point Lead

Bowman remains in the 16th and final Playoff position with a 29-point lead over Chris Buescher. Bowman expressed frustration over lapped traffic that limited his opportunities to challenge Dillon in the closing laps.

"A couple of favors," replied Bowman when asked what else he needed to compete with Dillon. "We really had the best car. Unfortunately, we couldn't get to him."

Tyler Reddick, who won the first stage and led the initial 41 laps, finished 34th after being caught in traffic. The 23XI Racing driver maintains a 60-point cushion above the cutoff line in 15th place.

RCR Wins Again at Richmond After Penalty 

Richard Childress, team owner and Austin's grandfather, did not hide his emotion at seeing the #3 back in Victory Lane.

"You never take a win for granted," expressed Childress. "You never know when it will be the last one. For our entire company, Richard [Boswell] coming in his first year, winning here, he won at Darlington. He won today with an RCR car."

Richard Boswell, crew chief of the #3, completed his first season with RCR by securing the Playoff berth. The former Stewart-Haas Racing crew chief praised Dillon's work during the final weeks of the regular season.

"Austin Dillon is Richard Childress's grandson. I can promise you that if you had the means in 20 or 30 years to put my grandson in a car, after winning championships in trucks and Xfinity, I definitely would," Boswell defended Austin from criticism about his place on the team.

The NASCAR Cup Series moves to Daytona International Speedway for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 next Saturday, August 23rd, the final race of the regular season where five of the last seven winners celebrated their first victory of the year.