Austin Dillon shook up the Cup Series playoff picture in a big way, using the chrome horn on both Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin in overtime to win the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway and lock up his spot in the postseason.
NASCAR introduced a new wrinkle to the pit strategy for this weekend’s race at The Action Track. Along with six sets of the normal primary Goodyear tires, each team had two sets of option tires with more grip but higher wear than the primary tires.
Decisions made by race teams on when to utilize those option tires played a big part in determining the final running order.
Daniel Suarez, Michael McDowell Soar After Early Option Tire Calls
Going into Sunday’s race, Daniel Suarez was not widely considered a contender at Richmond, starting back in 21st.
That all changed during the lap 75 pit stops following stage one. Suarez’s crew chief Matt Swiderski called for four option tires for his No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet. Suarez immediately reaped the benefits, restarting 16th and maneuvering his way to the lead in just 13 green flag laps.
Through the shuffling of the field through various tire strategies, Suarez retained his track position to win stage two and pick up an all-important playoff point.
Though Suarez was on the wrong end of the option tires in overtime, he did bring it home in the 10th position, a much better finish than he would have had without rolling the dice and being the one of the first two drivers on the option tires.
“I feel the biggest advantage of the red [option] tires was on restarts,” Suarez said postrace. “Under the green flag, but on restarts, it was huge.
“We knew everyone was going to put on the option tires in the last stage, and if everyone has the option tires, it’s not that big of an advantage. We really wanted to play outside the box, and I think it worked out good for us.”
The other driver who got option tires on lap 75 was Michael McDowell, with crew chief Travis Peterson making the call for the No. 34 team.
McDowell, who had to restart at the back as the free pass car, weaved his way through the pack to a sixth-place finish in stage two. Though McDowell fell to 15th at the finish, the early option tire call earned him a significant net gain from his starting spot of 28th.
There is no question that the option tires wound up making a bigger difference on the older surface at Richmond than they were during the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. NASCAR and Goodyear deserve a lot of credit for offering a softer tire to the teams to mix up the strategy and the racing at Richmond.
Rusty Pit Crews Make Critical Mistakes
Richmond marked the first race back for the Cup Series following a two-week break for the Olympics. The time off from competition showed in the performance of a few pit crews on Sunday evening.
Martin Truex Jr. and the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing crew had a 19-second stop on lap 170 due to issues changing in the left rear. That took Truex out of contention out of the win, with a engine failure ultimately relegating him to a last-place finish.
Kyle Busch and the No. 8 team added to their long laundry list of problems in 2024 with a slow pit stop on lap 128. Busch fell off the lead lap and settled for 12th place while his teammate Dillon won the race.
In terms of playoff implications, the biggest pit road gaffe may belong to Chris Buescher and the No. 17 RFK Racing crew. While pitting under green on lap 121, Buescher had to back up to his pit stall to tighten a loose lug nut. Consequently, Buescher went a lap down and fell to 18th in the final running order.
That result, coupled with Dillon’s victory, puts Buescher three points below the playoff cutline after arriving in Richmond 17 points to the good. Buescher will need to finish strong in the final three races of the regular season if he wants to vie for the title of Cup Series Champion.
Look Ahead to Next Week
The drivers of the Cup Series will go from short track racing to the two-mile Michigan International Speedway for the running of the FireKeepers Casino 400 next Sunday, Aug. 18.
With a much larger racetrack, newer surface and no option tires, pit strategy will look significantly different when NASCAR goes racing in The Mitten next weekend. Fuel mileage has been a key factor in many Michigan races in the past, most notably Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s victory there in 2008.
Andrew Stoddard joined Frontstretch in May of 2022 as an iRacing contributor. He is a graduate of Hampden-Sydney College, the University of Richmond, and VCU. He works as an athletic communications specialist at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Va.