July 20 (UPI) — Richard Childress Racing team drivers Austin Dillon and Tyler Reddick finished first and second, respectively, to lead the pack at the Cup Series O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Dillon held off the rest of the field in the final laps to capture his first Cup Series win of 2020 Sunday in Fort Worth. Joey Logano finished third, followed by Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick in the top-five.
Dillon snagged an automatic spot in the Cup Series playoff with the victory. He averaged 137.2 mph in the 334-lap race. An estimated 20,000 to 25,000 fans were in attendance for the race, but most remained under shaded areas in the grandstand due to intense afternoon heat.
“Tyler Reddick, he raced me clean,” Dillon told reporters. “1-2 for RCR [Richard Childress Racing]. This has been coming.
“We’ve had good cars all year. I’ve got my baby Ace back home and my wife and I love them so much. I’m just so happy. Thank God. To tell you the truth, it means a whole lot [to be in the payoffs] for the family, for all our of partners.”
Ryan Blaney led a race-high six times for 150 laps before a caution came out with 31 laps remaining. The flag changed the landscape of the race and forced several of the day’s best cars to stay on the track, while Reddick and Dillon were able to take a pit stop to improve their cars.
Blaney finished seventh. Harvick and Aric Almirola each led three times. Logano, Dillon and Martin Truex Jr. each led twice. Almirola finished 10th. Truex Jr. finished 29th.
Harvick leads the Cup Series standings and has clinched a playoff spot. Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Logano, Blaney, Chase Elliott, Truex Jr., Alex Bowman and Cole Custer join Dillon inside the top-10 in the Cup Series standings and also have clinched playoff spots.
The Cup Series season continues with the Super Start Batteries 400 at 7:30 p.m. EDT Thursday at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City.
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