August 17, 2025<\/a><\/p>\nHe has back-to-back seasons with a win for the first time since 2017-18 \u2014 and during a time in which RCR has struggled. If you want a measurement of how the team is doing overall, just look at Dillon\u2019s teammate, the great Kyle Busch \u2014 who has not won at all in the last two and a half seasons.<\/p>\n
And Dillon is doing all of this with more responsibilities than a typical driver, because he\u2019s involved with RCR management decisions.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the outside people knew how much he did on top of this \u2014 he\u2019ll be at the shop on Monday at a meeting with Richard, talking about the health of the company,\u201d crew chief Richard Boswell said. \u201cHe\u2019s got a lot on his plate, which makes it harder for him to work at this level as a Cup driver as well. But he stays at it all week long.\u201d<\/p>\n
On that steamy day at Colts training camp, Dillon and Busch hung around until practice was over to meet cornerback Kenny Moore II. Moore, who described himself as a big race fan, was enthusiastic about meeting both drivers \u2014 and not just Busch, the future Hall of Famer.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been seeing y\u2019all names for a long time now,\u201d Moore told them.<\/p>\n
Indeed, Dillon has quietly put together a 12-year Cup Series career in which he has six Cup wins \u2014 including two crown jewels \u2014 and two lower-series championships. But for anyone tired of seeing his name, there\u2019s bad news: You\u2019re going to be hearing about Dillon for a long time to come, because he\u2019s being groomed to take the reins of RCR when Childress, now 79, eventually steps away.<\/p>\n
Dillon said the two men already have \u201cknock-down, drag-out\u201d fights about the direction of the company at times because Childress is \u201cloyal to a fault\u201d with personnel whereas Dillon sees the need for change. But Dillon feels he\u2019s making an impact, even if it\u2019s not immediate.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe usually has a way about it where you tell him one thing and he\u2019s going to get upset about it,\u201d Dillon said. \u201cThen two weeks later (he) turns around (and says), \u2018What do you think about this?\u2019 \u2018That\u2019s a great idea, man. I love that.’\u201d<\/p>\n
Reddick at risk?<\/p>\n
Dillon was 28th in the point standings prior to Saturday night, so his playoff berth was certainly unexpected with two races remaining. And combined with a bad night for Tyler Reddick \u2014 after Reddick was spun in a chain-reaction incident triggered by Daniel Su\u00e1rez \u2014 there\u2019s suddenly a dramatic shift in the potential playoff field.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s because Reddick, who is currently seventh in the standings and has shown plenty of speed at times this season despite not winning, is now in jeopardy of missing the cut. That\u2019s shocking, considering the more likely scenario heading into Richmond was Reddick would clinch a berth if there was no new winner.<\/p>\n
But now Reddick is only 29 points ahead of Alex Bowman, who currently has the final position on points, and if there is another new winner at Daytona to take a guaranteed berth, just one driver will make the field based on points. Should Reddick crash at Daytona (entirely possible given the frequency of the Big One) and Bowman end up with a good night, Reddick could be out.<\/p>\n
![\"Tyler](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2230510976-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Suddenly, Tyler Reddick will have to sweat it out at Daytona. A bad day there, plus a new winner and a good day for Alex Bowman could doom his playoff hopes. (Samuel Corum \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Did anyone see this coming? Surely not as recently as last week, when Reddick left Watkins Glen with a 117-point lead over the cutoff spot. Even if there were two new winners, he was still 57 points \u2014 almost an entire race \u2014 ahead of Bowman.<\/p>\n
But Dillon\u2019s win, along with the ill-fated Su\u00e1rez wreck and Bowman\u2019s excellent Richmond race (a second-place finish) suddenly combined to bring doubt into play. Now, a driver who made a Championship 4 appearance last year and is ahead of eight of this season\u2019s playoff drivers in the point standings, has to sweat it out for one more race.<\/p>\n
If you were Reddick\u2019s team, what strategy would you use at Daytona? You would have to assume there will be a new winner in your scenario-planning, so that leaves a points race with Bowman. One idea would be to hang back and try to force Bowman into running hard; after all, Bowman would have to be on offense for stage points and his overall result. While that could appear conservative, it also provides some level of protection from the Big One and letting others take themselves out (thus filling the bottom of the running order with DNFs and gambling Bowman cannot gain 30 points that way).<\/p>\n
Greatyear<\/p>\n
While it\u2019s unfortunate tire supplier Goodyear has been given the onus of fixing what ails NASCAR\u2019s Next Gen car on short tracks, the company certainly provided more than just a glimmer of hope on Saturday night.<\/p>\n
The race was entertaining and interesting almost entirely because of the tire wear. The various strategies allowed for a wide discrepancy in speed, which created passing opportunities \u2014 which is what many have been pleading for, particularly on short tracks.<\/p>\n
Does it mean Goodyear can replicate this everywhere by bringing a soft tire? No, not necessarily. Multi-groove Richmond, last repaved in 2004, is one of NASCAR\u2019s oldest surfaces and naturally wears tires. Some of the newer repaves would require Goodyear to go even softer with its tire compounds, which is a stretch given the company\u2019s current tools.<\/p>\n
So while Richmond showed what is possible with the car, it also should be enjoyed on its own merits instead of viewed as the new standard going forward for other short tracks. At this time, that doesn\u2019t seem realistic.<\/p>\n
Lord, Byron!<\/p>\n
William Byron won his first regular-season championship on Saturday night after a 12th-place finish \u2014 combined with Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott\u2019s first DNF of the year \u2014 was enough to clinch the prize of 15 bonus points with one race remaining before the playoffs begin.<\/p>\n
Even though Byron hit a slump with a stretch of poor results this summer (he finished outside the top 15 in six of eight races before winning earlier this month at Iowa Speedway), he believed his No. 24 team showed enough speed all along. That helped alleviate some of the typical concerns that have come when the team gets off to a hot start and then slips in the midseason stretch.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re in rhythm, in sync,\u201d he said. \u201cThe years we\u2019ve been on the other side, it\u2019s a lot of questions, a lot of doubt that things are going to work out.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow we\u2019ve been kind of through the wringer of a lot of different things this year. Every race has kind of been different in terms of what we fight. \u2026 It feels nice to go into the playoffs hitting on all cylinders, just operating well. I don\u2019t feel like we\u2019ve ever really slowed down.\u201d<\/p>\n
What\u2019s particularly notable about Saturday night\u2019s achievement is Byron had coughed up a triple-digit lead in the standings when Elliott roared back to take the top spot by 16 points at Dover (less than a month ago). Then, in just four races, Byron reclaimed the lead and did enough to wrap up the title before even taking the green flag for the regular-season finale.<\/p>\n
(Photo of Austin Dillon celebrating Saturday\u2019s win: Samuel Corum \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n