Top Dog: Austin Dillon
The race that would never end. The Gateway Gambit. The World Wide Technology Raceway Wreckfest. Whatever you call Sunday’s (Sept. 13) NASCAR Cup Series Race, it was a wild one. Located a few miles away from St. Louis, Mo., the 1.25-mile, egg-shaped oval featured a season-high 18 cautions, despite a planned race distance of only 300 miles.
Through the chaos, there were a handful of underdog runs. Some were via attrition, while others gained position through strategy. Brad Keselowski had race-winning pace all day, but he couldn’t hold off cars on newer tires late. Ross Chastain recovered from a mid-race incident, survived multiple restarts at the front on older tires and finished just inside the top five. Connor Zilisch got his first top 10 on an oval with his seventh-place run.
All of the above had phenomenal, possibly season-best performances, but Austin Dillon is who caught my eye. Dillon wasn’t a factor all day, but at the end of the race, he found himself up front. The perseverant effort gave the Richard Childress Racing No. 3 team their second sixth-place finish of the year, tying their season-best result.
The Climb to the Top
Dillon qualified 22nd and stayed in the mid-pack range for the entire first stage. During a caution mid-way through stage one, Dillon pitted while most of the field stayed out. In turn, he stayed out during the stage-ending caution, restarting in seventh.
After two yellow flags early in the second stage, the Dillon pitted with the majority of the field, putting him back on the dominant strategy. Dillon struggled on what became the longest run of the day, and he was running well outside the top 20 when stage two ended early due to Zane Smith’s brake failure.
The final stage was caution-filled, just like the first one. With a caution around 70 laps to go, the No. 3 pitted and could make it to the end on fuel. Though it was difficult to pass, tires did make a difference, enough so that Dillon pitted during a caution with about 40 laps to go. He restarted in 17th. By the next caution, nine laps later, he was up to 14th.
With under 20 laps to go, Dillon dodged a sprawling wreck in front of him. He restarted in seventh and held position after yet another multi-car wreck, this time behind the No. 3. On the next restart, Dillon moved into sixth before the yellow flag flew again, forcing overtime.
Dillon dropped back to seventh during the first overtime attempt, but once again, the caution came out, forcing another two-lap sprint. The No. 3 team took the position back for the second attempt and walked away with a sixth-place finish, tying their season-best result.
Looking Ahead
Dillon gained two positions in the standings. Though The Chase field is already set, the standings still matter to the remaining teams.
In what has been a tough year for RCR, both on the track and off, this result should be reassuring. In recent years, flat, heavy-braking tracks have been its strong suit, and at WWTR, the No. 3 team showed that’s still the case.
Top Dog of the Lower Series
NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series: Kyle Sieg had the best drive of his career Saturday night (Sept. 12) at Gateway. A 16th-place qualifying run set the 25-year-old RSS Racing driver inside the top 20 for the race start.
Sieg had a quiet first part of the race, which was for the better. Sieg was not damaged by the pit road chaos during the first stage break, despite being behind it all. In stage two, Sieg raced his way up to 13th. In the end, Sieg would get his first top 10 at a non-restrictor plate track, crossing the finish line in ninth.
Small Team Scheme of the Week
SS GreenLight Racing has had some great paint schemes in 2026. This weekend, their No. 07 Chevrolet, driven by Josh Bilicki, continued the trend.
The duel-sponsored Kaishan/Brabazon car was jet black with blue arcs. The gold number stood prominently, and the white rear of the car gave the design a perfect contrast.
Bilicki finished 26th in the O’Reilly event in a livery perfect for a night race.
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