Austin Dillon stood beneath an umbrella three-plus hours earlier than he’d truly declare the checkered flag on Sunday and shrugged his shoulders.

“A minute in the past we had been a lap down,” the Cup driver instructed NBC Sports activities on the time, the race not but completed. He added, “It’s simply loopy. You by no means know what might occur at Daytona.”

It’s true.

Within the span of three rain-delayed hours however solely 21 laps round Daytona Worldwide Speedway, the No. Three automobile moved from 16th to first, then to second, then to first as soon as extra — all to earn a playoff-sealing journey to Victory Lane within the remaining regular-season race of 2022.

“It’s loopy,” Dillon instructed NBC Sports activities, contemporary off of some donuts in entrance of the gang that endured the climate delays in Daytona. “You simply by no means quit and have religion.”

Dillon’s ending blows got here within the type of two strikes — and each arrived on the good time on Sunday.

The primary transfer? With 22 laps to go, the No. Three automobile noticed the race’s largest wreck in actual time, lowered into the apron and one way or the other prevented the carnage. He was actually the one driver to maneuver via the wreck unscathed.

The purple flag flew just about instantly after that due to rain. A 3-plus-hour climate delay commenced.

However Dillon by no means assumed his racing was completed, and that ready him for his second profitable transfer three hours later with lower than 10 laps to go: After dropping the lead on the restart, a number of laps later, he bumped rookie Austin Cindric out of the best way and seized a lead with two laps to go.

And Dillon wouldn’t relinquish it.

“We had some robust finishes this 12 months like Charlotte, man. I’d beat myself up over that,” Dillon continued. “I made transfer and simply didn’t end it off. However right this moment, we completed it off, and I’m so pleased with these guys.”

Sunday’s race outcomes knock Martin Truex Jr., who completed with the fourth-most factors within the area however with no wins, out of the championship chase.

The one driver within the playoffs who didn’t notch a regular-season win is Ryan Blaney, who edged Truex within the factors battle.

“Simply not quick sufficient to maintain up with these guys,” stated Truex, whose automobile was severely broken after the aforementioned big wreck proper earlier than the race’s purple flag. “We received the restart we would have liked and received in a good spot there, simply couldn’t sustain. It’s broad open that complete final run there. It’s a disgrace. It stinks. However simply an excessive amount of harm to have the pace to do what we would have liked to do.”

When the sector collected forward of Dillon’s sprint to the entrance, Blaney had a 14-point lead on Truex. However with the entire disabled vehicles from the wreck parked, Blaney made up the laps he was behind on a big chunk of the sector, eliminating the deficit. And when Truex fell from close to the lead again to eighth, the purpose differential swung in favor of Blaney.

Tyler Reddick, Dillon’s teammate for Richard Childress Racing, completed in second. Cindric completed in third.

With the win, Dillon earned his fourth victory in 326 Cup Collection races and his eighth top-10 end in 2022.

Right here’s what else you’ll want to know:

Austin Cindric begins remaining restart nicely, nudged by Dillon

Cindric, who gained the Daytona 500 earlier this common season, completed second after a late-race bodily transfer by Dillon.

“I received hit by one other race automobile going 190, 200 miles an hour,” Cindric stated succinctly when requested what occurred on the pivotal play. “Glad I saved it. Glad I had a shot to come back again via the sector. However he’s racing for a playoff spot. I completely anticipated to get pushed via, it was only a matter of time, however fairly bummed as a result of we had a shot to win right this moment.”

Stated Dillon: “There was loads occurring there. I knew that if we received to the white, if we waited too lengthy, I used to be afraid someone would wreck behind us, so I wished to go forward and get the lead. We had been capable of get it. I had a giant run to him, after which I had my teammate, the 8, again there. I knew we had been in fairly fine condition there on the finish.”

Climate impacts racing earlier than purple flag

The climate loomed giant all weekend at Daytona. It delayed the beginning of the Xfinity race on Friday. It postponed Daytona’s Cup race from Saturday night time to Sunday morning.

But it surely additionally impacted Sunday’s type of racing. Stage Three wrecks largely began from P2, P3 and P4 — a results of drivers not eager to be caught in second when the inevitable storm made landfall.

Michael McDowell, who wrecked in Stage 3, was trustworthy about his aggression. He spoke on it after he emerged from Daytona’s infield care middle after wrecking on Sunday.

“It’s superspeedway racing,” McDowell stated of his wreck. “We had been all going for it there. Clearly I might’ve rolled out of the gasoline and stayed behind the 22, but when it had been raining proper now, I might’ve been in second and been actually upset with myself. …

“We needed to win to get within the playoffs, and we simply weren’t capable of do it.”

Justin Haley was candid, too. The No. 31 workforce determined to not pit when the remainder of the sector did late in Stage 3, seizing the lead and banking on the truth that inclement climate wasn’t going to let the race end beneath inexperienced.

He was proper in regards to the climate. However he wasn’t within the lead when the wreck erupted, regardless that he stated rain started to fall a lap earlier than the race was halted with a purple flag.

“It was raining for lap earlier than we received down there in Flip 1,” Haley stated to the NBC broadcast. “Popping out of two the earlier lap, it was raining, and we simply misplaced traction.”

Haley went on to name NASCAR’s dealing with of the scenario “fairly unacceptable,” including: “It’s simply robust, man. Combating for my proper, preventing for my life each day, so you are taking these small alternatives and attempt to make one thing of it.”

Intense racing at Daytona

The darkish clouds looming overhead come Stage Three made the drivers at or close to the entrance of the pack extra aggressive than ever — all of them, as aforementioned, not eager to be caught enjoying conservatively when the race was referred to as for good.

However the depth didn’t start in the course of the race’s remaining stretch.

It started early.

Kyle Busch, the multi-time Cup championship winner, cracked a smile and shrugged when requested about Sunday’s intense racing.

“I used to be similar to, ‘Why are we doing this proper now? On Lap 2? Lap 3?’” he stated. “So I rolled out, and I went to the again, and I’m getting my footing and the whole lot proper and simply sort of watching the whole lot progress. Then I made my method up towards the entrance, and we had been capable of accumulate some good stage factors, which was good.”

There have been three different notable wrecks that loomed giant on Sunday.

The primary arrived on Lap 31: Denny Hamlin appeared to get unfastened from the entrance and spin out. Erik Jones, Christopher Bell, Brad Keselowski and Blaney had been all concerned. The wreck knocked Keselowski out of the race — and subsequently out of the playoffs — and completely broken Blaney’s automobile, too.

The second arrived on Lap 102, damaging Truex, McDowell and Blaney additional. And the third (proper earlier than The Massive One) arrived at Lap 125, which considerably broken Bubba Wallace’s automobile and despatched Chase Briscoe into the air.

In complete there have been seven cautions for 30 laps, per NASCAR.

Who made the Cup Collection playoffs?

The NASCAR Cup Collection playoffs start subsequent week in Darlington. The drivers who make up the 16 automobile area: Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Ross Chastain, Joey Logano, William Byron, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe, Kyle Busch, Daniel Suarez, Austin Cindric, Alex Bowman and Austin Dillon.

Different observations at Daytona

▪ Kyle Larson began on the pole on Sunday, however he was the primary driver to exit the race due to a automobile mechanical problem. He entered pit highway after which pushed his automobile into the storage by Lap 15: “Bummer,” the No. 5 automobile driver stated, “I’m positive we’ll drop a number of spots within the factors, in order that’ll damage for the playoffs. … However I suppose there’s one constructive: I didn’t get caught up in a crash.

▪ Sunday featured 39 lead modifications and 19 totally different leaders. Elliott led a race-best 31 laps. Erik Jones led 22 laps. And Austin Dillon solely led 10.

Official outcomes from Daytona

Per NASCAR, inspection within the NASCAR Cup Collection storage has been accomplished. There have been no points.

This story was initially printed August 28, 2022 5:33 PM.

Alex Zietlow writes about NASCAR, Charlotte FC and the methods through which sports activities intersect with life within the Charlotte space for The Observer, the place he has been a reporter since August 2022. Zietlow’s work has been honored by the N.C. and S.C. Press Associations, in addition to the APSE, which awarded him with High-10 finishes within the Beat Writing and Quick Characteristic classes in its 2021 writing contest. He beforehand wrote for The Herald in Rock Hill from 2019-22.