PIT NOTE No. 4:
Dillon Wins Drive for the Cure 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway
Richard Childress Racing driver Austin Dillon took advantage of a clash between then race leader Kyle Busch and Kasey Kahne to win the Drive for the Cure 300 presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina and complete the season sweep of NASCAR XFINITY Series races at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
As he did at the Hisense 4K TV 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May, Dillon earned the pole position in Friday night’s XFINITY Series event before taking the win.
Busch led the most laps and put his car on cruise before the incident sent him into the Turn 4 wall and ended his chances for a victory. Dillon was the first car off pit road following the caution and held on to take the checkers. Eric Jones finished second, followed by Brad Keselowski, Daniel Suarez and Regan Smith to round out the Top 5.
“Tonight we started a little off,” said Dillon. “We made some really big swings. We just had to get track position back. We had the race won right there when we got out in clean air. We were pretty loose there that last run, but it worked out for us.”
Dillon averaged 152.027 mph and completed the 300 miles in 1 hour and 58 minutes. There were three caution periods that consumed 13 laps.
Finishing in sixth through 10th were Ty Dillon, points leader Chris Buescher, Darrell Wallace Jr., Chase Elliott and Elliott Sadler.
Winner – Austin Dillon (No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet) – “What a year. This has been awesome. This has meant a lot. We have won most of our races from the pole. Tonight we started a little off and we started bringing the car back. We made some really big swings. The second one was closer and the third one could get us out front. We just had to get track position back. When the caution came out, I thought our car was very capable of winning the race. We had to choose where to restart from and that worked out really well. We had the race won right there when we got out in clean air. We were pretty loose there that last run but it worked out for us. ”
Danny Stockman Jr. (Crew Chief No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet) – “We sat down after practice and tried to figure out what to do tonight and we went the wrong direction. After we figured it all out, it paid off. We got the car pretty close on the first pit stop and after that it was just fine tuning. I’m just really proud of everybody at RCR. It’s fun to work with Austin and see how far he has come and how he has grown as a race car driver.”
Richard Childress (Team Owner No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet) – “I’m really proud of Austin. I can see, like Danny said, the improvements in him. He was so steady and consistent on his lap times. That is what it takes. This is a big step to run here and win in the XFINITY Series. He gets around here really good.”
