High hopes dashed early for Dillon at Michigan
What seemed to be a day of high hopes for Austin Dillon quickly went awry as Dillon crashed at the end of Stage Two in Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan.
Dillon finished sixth in the stage but a wreck with Brad Keselowski took him out after they crossed the line.
Dillon had a run on Keselowski exiting turn four and side-drafted him, then moved to the apron. Keselowski dived to side-draft Dillon, who won the battle but then clipped Keselowski’s left-front fender, which sent Dillon spinning and hitting the outside wall hard.
Dillon retired from the race after the wreck and was not happy. Even unhappier was Richard Childress who said, “I’m an old man but I can kick his ass, according to Jordan Bianchi, in reference to Keselowski.
Dillon earned eight points in Stage One and moved to within 20 points of teammate Tyler Reddick for the final playoff spot. Dillon gained two more points as Reddick finished eighth in Stage Two, which closed the gap to 18 points, but the wreck took Dillon out of any chance of gaining more points.
Despite the wreck, Dillon gained three points on Reddick. Dillon finished 36th and earned ten stage points while Reddick finished 29th and earned three stage points.
However, Dillon is still in a virtual must-win situation entering the August 28th Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona (TV: NBC; Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) to get into the playoffs.
SOURCES:
NASCAR
Racing-Reference.Info
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com