Gutsy Fuel Strategy Call in Coca-Cola 600 Helps Austin Dillon Earn Career-First Victory

“I feel like we did our jobs.  We took a car that was capable of running fifth to eighth, and we took it to Victory Lane. The pit crew did an amazing job.  I had a really good restart and an okay restart that hurt us a little but.  However, that did put us in a position where I could be smart and save fuel.  Track position is tough at a place like Charlotte.  Man, that’s what the 600 is about.  You got to keep yourself in it to win it, and we did that. I never changed direction. Once I started saving, I was really smooth letting out of the gas, smooth back to the gas, no brake. I just tried to stay as smooth as I could. I knew the laps were counting down. I knew my team wanted me to go pass race leader Jimmie Johnson, but I knew he was right there. If I had to make it in a lap, I felt like I could do it. It worked out. That actually took some pressure off me when he ran out of fuel, truthfully. As soon as that happened, I went back to my conserving mode. I said to myself ‘you’re fine’. Then brought it home. It feels awesome to deliver a victory to fans of the No. 3 car, to fans of Richard Childress Racing, and to everyone who has believed in me, especially my partners who have been with me since the very beginning. It’s pretty cool to see the No. 3, like my grandfather said, on top of the pylon tonight. Now, we can take two cars to the Playoffs and hopefully make some noise.”

“First I want to congratulate Austin, Justin and the entire 3 team. It’s great to see that car back in Victory Lane especially for Richard and what it means for the organization. We now have two of our three cars in the Playoffs. It’s awesome. As for our race, our Grainger Chevrolet really struggled when we went back to green after the rain delay. The call to stay out and conserve really turned our day around and we’ll take it.”