ABOUT

• Michigan International Speedway is a two-mile moderate-banked D-shaped speedway located off U.S. Highway 12 on more than 1,400 acres approximately four miles south of the village of Brooklyn, in the Irish Hills area of southeastern Michigan.

• Capacity: 56,000–137,243 (max.) Length: 2.0 mi (3.2 km)

• Banking: Turns: 18°; Start/Finish: 12°; Backstretch: 5° TRACK FACTS

• Groundbreaking took place Sept. 28, 1967. Some 2.5 million yards of dirt were moved to form the D-shaped oval designed by Charles Moneypenny, who previously designed the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway. The original layout included infield and exterior roads, which could be combined to form a single 3.1-mile interior/exterior road course, or divided into separate 1.9-mile interior/exterior road courses. The road courses were designed by Formula One great Stirling Moss and are still used on a limited basis for passenger car testing by area law enforcement agencies. The last interior road course race was held in 1984, and the last time the exterior road course was used was in 1973.

• The prime mover in the venture was Lawrence H. LoPatin, a Detroit-area land developer who built the speedway at an estimated cost of $4-6 million. The saucer-shaped, 18-degree banking provided exciting racing right from the start. The Inaugural Race took place Oct. 13, 1968. The 250-mile Indystyle event posted a purse second at the time only to the Indianapolis 500. Ronnie Bucknum collected $20,088 as the first driver to take the checkered flag.

• Cale Yarborough won the first NASCAR race at the speedway on June 15, 1969, in a thrilling duel with LeeRoy Yarbrough. The two drivers battled doorto- door for most of the final 150 laps. On their final circuit, they touched twice-entering turn one, with Yarbrough brushing the outside wall. Coming out of the final turn Yarbrough crashed just 300 yards from the finish line, handing victory to Yarborough.

RCHMOND, Va. – It took a controversial full-contact finish but Austin Dillon claimed his first Cup Series victory in two seasons in Sunday night’s Cook Out 400 at Richmond (Va.) Raceway – vaulting from 32nd place in the points standings before the race to an automatic Playoff berth with the win.

Coming to the checkered flag during the final lap of overtime, Dillon’s No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevy hit the rear bumper of the race-leading No. 22 Team Penske driven by Joey Logano crashing Logano’s car into the catchfence. Then Dillon immediately moved low on track and hit Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota as he was driving by. It allowed Dillon to take the checkered flag only a few feet ahead and claim the all-important win by a slight .116-second.

As Logano and Hamlin drove their dented, smoking cars to pit lane, the 34-year-old North Carolinian Dillon did victory doughnuts and spoke about the win and the move he used to gain it. He reminded reporters later that this was short track-style racing and that he’s seen both Logano and Hamlin make moves to win a trophy.

“I don’t know man, it’s been two years and this is the first car I’ve had a shot to win with,’’ Dillon said when asked if he thought it was a fair move for the win.

“I felt like with two to go, we were the fastest car. Obviously we had to have a straightaway. Wrecked the guy. I hate to do that, but sometimes you just got to do it.

“I got to thank the good Lord above. It’s been tough for the last two years man. I care about RCR, these fans, my wife. This is my first [win] for my baby girl. It means a lot. I hate it, but I had to do it.’ When given that shot, you’ve got to take it,’’ Dillon added.

It’s Dillon’s first win in the last 68 races and fifth of his career. His last trophy came in the final regular season race of 2022 at Daytona which earned a last chance position in that Playoff run. He was ranked 32nd in points coming into this Richmond race – 258 points behind the Playoff cutoff line – and now he becomes the 13th driver to win his way into championship contention.

Noted his grandfather, team owner and Hall of Famer, Richard Childress, “He knew what he had to do and they (Logano and Hamlin) would have done it to him.’’

After speaking briefly with reporters alongside his car on pit road, an angry Logano went immediately to the NASCAR officials team hauler.

“It was chicken &*#! – there’s no doubt about it,’’ the two-time series champion Logano said of Dillon’s move. “He was four car-lengths back, not even close. Then he wrecks the 11 [Hamlin] to go along with it.

“I mean I get it, bump and run,’’ Logano continued, “I’ve done that, but he just drove through me, it’s ridiculous.’’

Hamlin, who led the most laps (124) on the night, was equally as frustrated.

“There are no penalties for rough driving so it opens up the opportunity for Austin to just do whatever he wants,’’ said Hamlin, who was scored second.

Finishing just behind Hamlin were 23XI Racing teammates Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace. Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain was fifth. These positions were important with only three races remaining now to set the 16-driver Playoff field.

Playoff eligibility changed throughout the race – sometimes dramatically so.

Wallace’s top-five run was enough to move him from a seven-point deficit outside the Playoff 16 to just inside the top 16. He has a three-point advantage in that final Playoff position now over both Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing’s Chris Buescher, who finished 18th Sunday night, and Chastain.

Martin Truex Jr. who led the championship standings for much of the early season and held a 102-point advantage inside the standings at the Richmond green flag, took a big hit in the points. His No. 19 JGR Toyota had to retire with engine problems taking a last place finish in Sunday’s 37car field and now the 2017 series champion holds only a 78-point advantage above the Playoff cutoff – ranked 14th still the highest ranked driver without a win.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Ty Gibbs is 15th with a 19-point cushion above the cutoff line, followed by Wallace, Buescher and Chastain.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Bell, who led 122 laps and won Stage 1 – a series best 10th stage win – finished sixth, followed by Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson, Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar, Hendrick’s Chase Elliott and Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suárez rounding out the Richmond top 10.

Larson continues to lead the standings – now with a five-point advantage over Reddick and a six-point lead on his teammate Elliott. Hamlin is fourth, only 21 points back.

“I got to thank the good Lord above. It’s been tough for the last two years man. I care about RCR (Richard Childress Racing), these fans, my wife. This is my first [win] for my baby girl. It means a lot.”

– Austin Dillon, who mowed his way to an overtime win Sunday night at Richmond Raceway

• Saturday’s CLEAN HARBORS 250, Richmond Raceway

RICHMOND, Va. — Ty Majeski took the lead on a restart with eight laps remaining in the Craftsman Truck Series regular-season finale at Richmond Raceway and held on to hoist his second consecutive race trophy after winning the Clean Harbors 250.

Majeski’s No. 98 ThorSport Racing Ford led Christian Eckes across the finish line by a slight .936 seconds to earn the win and vindicate a gutwrenching loss at the three-quarter mile Richmond track from a year ago when he dominated the race only to lose the lead with four laps remaining.

That tough loss was still very much on the mind of the 29-year-old Wisconsin native this weekend. And he nearly gave this one away too after receiving a pit-road penalty when a tire got loose on his first pit stop during the Stage 1 break.

“This feels good, we’ve had great ThorSport trucks here at Richmond the last two years but found different ways to lose them (races) and tried to do that again tonight,” said Majeski, who now has five career wins in the Truck Series. “We really need to clean that stuff up.”

Eckes, driver of the No. 19 McAnally-Hilgemann Chevrolet officially claimed the Regular Season Championship in winning Saturday night’s opening stage — his series-best eighth stage victory of the season.

For the first time in the modern playoff format, a driver raced his way into championship contention in the last cutoff race. Daniel Dye, 20, finished eighth in the No. 43 McAnally-Hilgemann Chevrolet — good enough to put him in the playoffs by 12 points over Tricon Garage’s Tanner Gray, who finished 12th.

“Just all the hard work these guys have put in and it’s really good to validate myself and the work I’ve put in to change up what I’ve been doing,” Dye said. “It’s so cool to have our 43 in the playoffs.

Tanner Gray stood by his car, understandably frustrated with the night. “We just weren’t good enough,” Tanner Gray said. “Didn’t have the speed, didn’t have the balance and I didn’t do a good enough job, so I’m really frustrated.”

His younger brother Taylor Gray finished third Saturday night, followed by veteran Grant Enfinger and rookie Layne Riggs. The third-place finish was good enough to secure Gray’s position in the 10-driver playoff field and comes in his first full-time season.

Fourth-place finisher Enfinger led the most laps — 98 of the 250 — and earned the Stage 2 win; his first stage victory since last season.

Tyler Ankrum, defending series champion Ben Rhodes, Dye, Ty Dillon and series debutant Connor Hall rounded out the top 10.

The 10-driver playoff field will include Tricon’s Corey Heim, a fiverace winner who holds a three-point advantage on Eckes to start the sevenrace playoff run. Majeski goes into the playoff run ranked third, followed by fellow race winners this season, Nick Sanchez and Rajah Caruth.

Enfinger is seeded sixth followed by Ankrum, Taylor Gray, Rhodes and Dye.

The playoff opener, the LiUNA! 175, is Sunday, Aug. 25, at Milwaukee Mile.