Austin Dillon has finally made the top 10 this season! While the RCR #3 driver finished P8, surprisingly, he had initially landed in P7 after maneuvering through multiple wrecks and pit strategies in the dramatic 276-lap overtime finish. However, reviews after the race resulted in his final position dropping by one spot, courtesy of a former rival – Bubba Wallace. And Dillon seemed well aware of the #23’s advances on the final lap.

Austin Dillon’s season-best could have been better…

Austin Dillon missed a chance to make the top 5 for the first time since his P3 podium finish at the final edition of the Bristol Dirt Race last year, but a P7 would’ve been in due order. Even Wyatt Watson of Frontstretch acknowledged this fact when he candidly asked Richard Childress’s grandson post-race: “After season-best finish. I believe it’s Seventh Place finish today… Can you describe your day?” 

Dillon went on to lay out his perspective saying, “Up and down. The first run. Car was pretty decent, we lost track position off of that caution coming out, and we were able to get the luck on our side when it mattered on that caution at the end to flip our track position. Guys made a good call… Was able to gain one I think every restart there at the end, choosing the top and just holding on man. It’s wild racing out there. This place is treacherous…”

Casting his recent misfortunes aside, the #3 driver managed to hold through till the very end. However, the #23 Toyota turned out to be faster on the final stretch, with Bubba Wallace earning his fourth top 10 this season. As for Dillon, it was his very first in 2024.

But when conversations moved to a post-race moment after Dillon was seen talking to Wallace after a contentious top-10 showdown, he revealed the gist of the discussions, saying, “In that last lap when Chastain wrecked, he never lifted and drove like right up to me. I thought we were going to wreck. But I was just saying we needed that finish. It was big, but yeah, it was all good.”

But now that Dillon seems to be coming back to his old formidable self, can he show his dominance at the track that he had once managed to tame?

A chance at redemption in Alabama

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One of Dillon’s four Cup Series wins came at Texas Motor Speedway four years ago. Therefore, many Austin Dillon fans were surprisingly disappointed to see the #3 Chevy finish a lowly 31st after the end of Stage 1 in Sunday’s race. He only managed to pick up his track position by six spots to end Stage 2 at P25.

In the final stage, however, Dillon and the #3 team really worked up their game, making their way through wrecks and cautions not pitting until during the 11th yellow flag of the race on lap 230. This helped the #3 driver better his track position, and he ultimately finished in P8 behind Wallace after an overtime wreck saw Ross Chastain get knocked out of contention for a P2 spot.

After a winless streak stretching over 50 races and a sluggish start to the 2024 season, Dillon received a potential boost. Just days ago, his former pit crew chief, Justin Alexander, replaced Keith Rodden. As it appears, the #3 team’s fortunes seem to be improving for this very reason.

Nevertheless, with Talladega beaming on the horizon, another superspeedway where Dillon almost claimed victory with the Next Gen car in 2022, those fortunes, could get plenty better heading into next week. It is also important to note that Bubba Wallace’s very first triumph in the Cup Series came at Talladega back in 2021, the season Dillon went winless for the first time. The sparks sure look set to fly on April 21.