"This is the last opportunity": Austin Dillon set to aid RCR teammate Kyle Busch secure playoff spot at Daytona

With his win at Richmond last week, Austin Dillon proved again that he knows how to tackle the D-shaped oval. Ranked 25th in the driver standings with 460 points to his name, the Richard Childress Racing driver is now in the playoffs.

However, his teammate and former Cup Series champion Kyle Busch has yet to win a race. The way things are now, making the playoffs solely based on points isn’t an option. So Busch has to win to get in.

Dillon said that he wants to help the Las Vegas native get his win in this coming Saturday’s race at Daytona International Speedway.

“A little pressure is taken off because we're in the NASCAR Playoffs now,” Austin Dillon said. “We want to go help our teammate Kyle Busch try and lock himself in. This is the last opportunity to get into the NASCAR Playoffs, so we'll be focused on helping him, while also trying to get some bonus points for the No. 3 BREZTRI AEROSPHERE® team for the NASCAR Playoffs.”

Busch is currently on the longest winless streak of his career. The last time he visited Victory Lane was back in 2023. Today, he sits 16th in the driver standings with 537 points to his name. 25 races into the season, the driver owns seven top-10s and a pair of top-fives.

Next up for the drivers is the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona. Scheduled for Saturday, August 23, the 400-lap race will be televised on Peacock (7:30 pm ET onwards) with live radio updates on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Austin Dillon reveals his secret to success at Richmond Raceway

Last year, Austin Dillon executed quite a controversial finish at Richmond. NASCAR took away his playoff spot due to the nature of the win (he wrecked Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin before crossing the finish line), but let him keep his win.

A year later, he followed it up with another win, this time a clean one. And it had him qualify for the playoffs, too. On that note, one might ask what the secret is behind his dominance at Richmond.

While speaking with Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the Dale Jr. Download, Austin Dillon explained it himself.

“I think it started years ago, truthfully, in the old car,” Dillon said. “I should have won a race there in the old car, and I sped on pit road, ended up coming all the way back to sixth. I feel like I have a unique line there.”

“I feel like the lower I can be, it just helps me from a drive standpoint. I’m glad that no one really is aggressive down there where I’m at. I just kind of stay down there and do my own thing. I don’t try and change my style. I just stick to it, and I feel like by the end of the race, it kind of comes to me as rubber lays down,” he added.

Besides his win, Austin Dillon has been able to amass one top five and five top-10s so far. Per reports, he will compete in the playoffs for the first time in the 2022 season.