“We weren’t on the same page”: Austin Dillon gets real about his changed dynamics with crew chief after “man-to-man meeting”

Austin Dillon bagged his maiden win of the 2025 season last Saturday (August 16) at Richmond. The Richard Childress Racing icon will now contend for his first career NASCAR Cup Series championship.

In his last 12 starts, Dillon has never finished better than 15th. Well, Iowa was the only exception, where he recorded a top-10 finish. Dillon sits as low as 25th on the drivers' standings, but thanks to his win, the Chevy star has qualified for the playoffs.

Recently, on Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour Podcast, Dillon spoke about how his relationship with crew chief Richard Boswell has helped him regain his winning momentum. It all started with a one-on-one meeting earlier this year.

“I have so much respect for Richard (Boswell),” Dillon said (1:40). “Earlier this year, we had to have like a sit-down meeting, just like a hey, we need to understand each other better (and) the competitive drive that each of us have, because we had moments at the beginning of the year where we weren't on the same page and ever since that an-to-man meeting, we've really done some good stuff.”

Austin Dillon is now a six-time winner in the NASCAR Cup Series. Notably, the former Daytona 500 winner made the playoffs five times before entering 2025, his ninth full year in the series. Dillon also has nine wins in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and seven wins in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

Next up for the 35-year-old speedster is the Coke Zero Sugar 400, which is also the last race of the regular season. Scheduled for this coming Saturday, August 23, the 400-lap event will stream live on Peacock from 7:30 p.m. ET onwards with live radio updates on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Austin Dillon reveals a shocking truth about his health after winning at Richmond

Winning last week’s race at Richmond had major implications for Austin Dillon, as well as the entire playoff picture as a whole. With his being a new winner, only two playoff berths are now up for grabs.

Dillon dropped a shocking health update moments after bagging the checkered flag at Richmond.

“I don't like to talk about it, but I fell off a ladder pulling my bow case off, getting ready for hunting season," Dillon told the reporters. “Fell on top of the bow case. It knocked the breath out of me. Knew it was pretty bad. Went ahead and raced Iowa. I got it X-rayed; seventh one on my right is broken.”

Austin Dillon then mentioned that he raced at Watkins Glen and Iowa with the fracture in his rib. The good news is that he has been recovering faster over the last two weeks. Only one race remains until the playoffs kick off at Darlington on August 31, and Dillon should ideally be at his peak form by then.