Dillon equals an Earnhardt feat with win at Richmond

In his playoff-clinching victory at Richmond Raceway, Austin Dillon shared some NASCAR history on the venerable short track with the most famous driver of the No. 3 Chevrolet. Dale Earnhardt, the late seven-time Cup Series champion who amassed 76 victories in a Hall of Fame career, was the last Richard Childress Racing driver to win consecutive Cup races at the 0.75-mile oval in Richmond, Virginia, until Dillon did so Saturday night.The comparisons to Earnhardt and whispers of nepotism have dogged Dillon since the grandson of team owner Richard Childress was tabbed 11 years ago to drive the car number synonymous with a NASCAR icon."I could win 50 races, and they'll say my grandpa gave me the ride," Dillon said with a smile. "They're not wrong. He did. He did a great job putting me in it. Hopefully, I'm paying off on his investment at some point."Richmond was only his sixth victory in 433 Cup starts, but Dillon said snapping a 37-race winless streak was "one of the best because it was pretty much a butt kicking." He led 107 of 400 laps, including the final 49, and cruised to a 2.471-second victory over Alex Bowman.Dillon never led for more than 35 laps in any of his previous Cup wins. He won the 2018 Daytona 500 by leading only the last lap after knocking Aric Almirola aside two turns from the checkered flag.Last year's win at Richmond was his most controversial as Dillon wrecked Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin on the final lap, and NASCAR consequently revoked his playoff eligibility.There was no such drama Saturday night, when Dillon cleanly outdueled 2023 Cup champion Ryan Blaney just before his final pit stop."Anybody that says Austin doesn't deserve to be at this level, look at the 30 or 40 laps he raced side by side with Ryan Blaney," said Richard Boswell, Dillon's crew chief. "He raced door to door with a Cup champion. He beat him. Yeah, we need to run better. We need to be more consistent. But anybody that says he just can't do it is not looking at the facts."Playoff outlookDillon became the 14th winner to lock into the 16-driver playoff field heading into the Aug. 23 regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway. There will be at least one winless driver to qualify for the playoffs, and Tyler Reddick and Bowman occupy the final two provisional spots in the points standings.Reddick was on track to clinch a playoff spot at Richmond after leading 41 laps, but he finished 34th after being caught in a crash that started when Daniel Suarez bumped Ty Gibbs.Regular-season champWith a 12th-place finish, William Byron clinched the regular-season title as Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott finished last. Byron will be awarded 15 playoff points that will provide a good cushion to make the championship finale at Phoenix Raceway for the third consecutive season.