Jeffrey Hrunka - Motorsports Today Contributor
RICHMOND VA. - Austin Dillon bumps Joey Logano and right-rears Denny Hamlin to take the victory in the Cook Out 400 on Sunday, Aug. 11. In a strategy-filled race, Dillon and his #3 Richard Childres Racing team played their cards right, on and off of pit road, to emerge victorious.
Stage 1:
It was an all-Toyota front row for the Cook Out 400, as Hamlin led the field to green with Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. to his outside. Hamlin got pressured by Truex Jr. on the restart but was able to hold him off to hold the lead of the race.
Toyota began to show its hand at the midway point of the first stage, as four of their drivers—Hamlin, Christopher Bell, Truex Jr. and Bubba Wallace—were inside the top five. Hamlin and Bell traded positions on lap 46, with Bell taking the lead and pulling away from his teammate.
Stage one did not have much action past this point, as lap traffic forced drivers to stay behind one another to avoid being held up. Bell saw the green-white-checkered for his tenth stage victory of the season.
Stage 2:
Goodyear’s option tires debuted in stage two, with Daniel Suarez and Michael McDowell taking the risk for gain much-needed track position. However, it left the #99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet Camero and the #34 Front Row Motorsports Ford Mustang down one option set, which played a factor later in the race's conclusion.
Suarez immediately became the fastest car on the track and showed that those who put on the softer set of tires had around a half-second advantage per lap. This pace encouraged others to gamble on the first set of pit stops but did not utilize the option tires to the extent of the #99 Trackhouse Racing team.
Using the option tires, Suarez gained the lead in a matter of laps. Those who put the tires on under green flag pit stops dealt with lap traffic.
“The biggest advantage of the red [option] tire was on restarts,” Suarez said. “If everyone goes on the option tires, there’s not much of an advantage. We wanted to play outside of the box.”
Teams were split on a one-stop or two-stop strategy, as either strategy benefited a long-term or short-term gain, with no in-between. Tyler Reddick, driver of the #45 Toyota Camry, and Suarez led each respective strategy over the course of the stage.
Numerous drivers who had issues on pit road or lacked pace had to put on the option tires on to flip their track position and cut their losses. This move aided the shortcomings of Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski and Todd Gilliland but affected their outcome later in the race by putting them on the back foot.
Suarez gambled on the option tire, and his two-stop strategy paid off, allowing him to claim his first stage victory of the season. However, once every lead lap car made their pit stop at the end of the stage, he was the only car on the prime tires.
Final Stage:
Bell and Suarez lined up on the front row to begin the final stage. Suarez, on the slower tire, could not match the pace of those on the option tires, which forced Richmond Raceway’s typical two-to-three wide restarts four-wide.
Shortly after the chaotic restart, an engine issue sent Truex Jr. out of the race. With no other cars out of the race, his last-place finish saw him lose over 20 points from the cut line.
Strategy played out similarly to stage two, as those eyeing a lucky break went on the one-stop strategy, with dominant cars electing for two stops.
It was Bell’s pit stop on lap 281 that changed the race's complexion. A speeding penalty on pit road eliminated his chances of victory, leaving the battle for the win between Dillon and Hamlin after the pit cycle.
Over the next 40 laps, Dillon ran down Hamlin, both of whom had another pit stop left in the race. Chris Gabehart, crew chief of the #11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry, called Hamlin down a lap earlier than Dillon for the undercut.
After the final set of green flag pit stops concluded, Hamlin reassumed the lead with Dillon in tow. Dillon was stuck riding behind Hamlin through lap traffic before finding a gap in the chaos to make the move exiting two.
Once the pass was made, the #3 Richard Childres Racing Chevrolet Camaro was impossible to catch, or so it seemed. With two laps to go, the #41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang of Ryan Preece spun the #47 JTG Daughty Chevrolet Camero of Ricky Stenhouse Jr., sending the race into overtime.
With a restart on the horizon, those left with the option tires were forced to put on four of them. Teams were not allowed to mix the two different tire compounds with one another, which prevented teams from taking a two-tire gamble. Dillon kept the lead exiting pit road first with a sub-ten-second stop, with Logano behind him in second.
On the final restart, Logano got the jump on Dillon and cleared down the back straightaway. Dillon followed closely behind, bumping Logano out of the way in turn four, spinning him.
Seconds later, he right-reared Hamlin, who was attempting to pass him on his inside, into the outside wall for his fifth career victory. The outcome would not come without controversy.
“I just always understood that if you right-hook somebody, you’re sitting out of the car for a week,” Reddick said. “It’s just wild to see it play out the way it did.”
Up Next:
NASCAR Cup Series action resumes at the Michigan Speedway on Sunday, Aug. 18, for the Firekeepers Casino 400. The playoff cutline continues to close, with three spots up for grabs.
Through the controversy, Dillon was able to claim his ticket to the postseason, locking him and his #3 Richard Childres Racing team in. He made it clear that whenever he is in a position to win, he will take it.
“I'm just looking at the start/finish line, Dillon said. “That’s it. I ain't hearing…past that point. Your eyes turn red. You see red, and you get to the end of the race.”
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