Dillon Battles For Needed Top-10 Finish At Iowa

Austin Dillon (3) chases John Hunter Nemechek at Iowa Speedway. (Matthew Thacker/Nigel Kinrade Photography)

NEWTON, Iowa – Three weeks ago, Richard Childress Racing owner Richard Childress said his team needed to begin bringing competitive cars to the racetrack.

At Iowa Speedway on Sunday, Austin Dillon and his No. 3 team did just that.

Dillon finished 10th in the Iowa Corn 350 powered by Ethanol to collect his fourth top 10 of the season and first since April at Texas Motor Speedway, nearly four months ago.

Though he only averaged a 13th-place running position, Dillon contended around the top 10 for much of the final stage, and was as high as second at one point during the race at the seven-eighths-mile oval.

“A top 10 for our team; that feels like a win with the way things have been going. We had a really fast car today,” said Dillon. “Cautions did not go our way, but I feel like we had a top-five car, for sure, if things had played out a bit differently.”

The 35-year-old felt like his team was getting close to bringing more competitive cars to compete for good finishes. Iowa appeared to back up that feeling in spades.

To begin the weekend in Iowa, Dillon was tabbed to replace Austin Hill in RCR’s NASCAR Xfinity Series program, after Hill was suspended for Iowa due to wrecking Aric Almirola late at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Dillon was able to use the Xfinity Series race to his advantage, with extra track time to learn and navigate the difficult Iowa short track. In the Xfinity race he qualified sixth and battled back to finish 14th after an early spin on Saturday, which translated well into the Cup race on Sunday.

He drove from 18th on the grid into the top 10 and stuck there despite 12 cautions and multiple race strategies among competitors. Dillon even collected a bonus point in stage two and earned a total of 28 points on the day.

Sunday was Dillon’s highest points haul since his seventh-place finish at Texas, and he jumped to 28th in the overall standings, after being in jeopardy of falling outside of the top 30.

“It was a blast out there and it felt good to race up front with those [playoff] guys and be in contention,” said Dillon.

In two races at Iowa Speedway, Dillon secured his best finish at the track. He also secured his second short track top 10 of the season.

While his year has been disappointing by both team and driver expectations, the Welcome, N.C., native is beginning to build momentum as he looks toward defending his Richmond win in two weeks.

However, he will first look to find more contending speed at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) Int’l as the Cup Series runs its final road course race of the regular season this weekend.

In his Cup Series career, the upstate New York track hasn’t treated Dillon well in 10 starts. His best finish is 16th back in 2014, while 17th is his highest result in the Next-Gen era.

But, a motivated organization determined to bring faster cars and mix up the results could easily lead to a turnaround.

Coverage of the Go Bowling at the Glen begins Sunday, Aug. 10 at 2 p.m. ET on USA, the Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.