in

Austin Dillon Drives to Victory at Fontana

Austin Dillon squeezed passed a pinch attempt from Kyle Busch to claim his first Xfinity race win of 2016. He took the victory on the last lap of the TreatMyClot.com 300 at Auto Club Raceway in Fontana, California. Busch once again had the dominate machine that led 133 laps of the 150 turned. Dillon only led one lap all afternoon, but it was the last and most significant lap of the contest. The victory broke a chance for the #18 NOS Toyota Camry of Kyle Busch to claim his fourth consecutive win.

The last lap of the race gave the drivers and the viewers a wild ride. Busch was clearly out front of the pack and had a substantial lead over teammate and second place driver Daniel Suarez. It looked like it was going to be smooth sailing heading into turn one of the final lap until Busch’s left front tire blew giving Suarez the lead heading into turn two.

Daniel Suarez, who drives the #19 Interstate Batteries Toyota, was poised to steal the victory until he abruptly dropped to the apron of the track and appeared to be running out of fuel. Busch then re-took the lead from Suarez on the high side of the asphalt and was once again limping towards the finish line in first.

The impressive lead Busch had acquired over third place competitor Dillon was shrinking fast. Dillon in his #2 Rheem Chevrolet caught Busch out of the final turn and made his move on the high side. Busch slowly maneuvered his Toyota Camry towards Dillon in what looked to many as an attempt to pin the #3 against the wall. The rather brash and aggressive attempt was in vein as Dillon’s Chevrolet slipped past the leader and drove on to the checkered flag.

“Well, I just had to stay focused,” said Dillon, who did a masterful job of saving fuel in snapping Busch’s three-race winning streak. “(My team) said (Busch) had a flat. I was worried about our fuel and stayed focused on that the whole time. He tried to screw me right there at the end, but it didn’t work out for him, did it? I’m proud of these guys. Man, that was fun. I didn’t think we had a car to do that, and we didn’t, but we did what we had to do to win the race ….sometimes things just go your way, and today they definitely did.”

The TreatmyClot.com 300 at Auto Club Raceway was completed in two hours and five minutes. The relatively fast-paced race had only four cautions for 16 laps and 12 lead changes among eight drivers. Darrell Wallace Jr. guided his #6 Ford Eco-Boost sponsored hot-rod into third place, right in front of Daniel Suarez’s coasting Toyota. Elliott Sadler in his OneMain Chevrolet rounded out the top five in fifth.

Suarez was awarded the Coors Light Pole Award and Joe Gibbs Racing once again claimed the Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race award. This was the fourth consecutive race that Joe Gibbs Racing has received the honor. Xfinity Series guru Busch took home the Mobil 1 Driver of the Race award.

Final Results for the TreatMyClot.com 300:

Pos Driver Team Car Time Laps
1 United StatesAustin Dillon United StatesRichard Childress Racing Chevrolet Camaro 2:05:52.0 150
2 United StatesKyle Busch United StatesJoe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry +0.714 150
3 United StatesDarrell Wallace Jr. United StatesRoush Fenway Racing Ford Mustang +6.368 150
4 MexicoDaniel Suarez United StatesJoe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry +14.930 150
5 United StatesElliott Sadler United StatesJR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro +21.558 150
6 United StatesKevin Harvick United StatesJR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro +22.277 150
7 United StatesBrendan Gaughan United StatesRichard Childress Racing Chevrolet Camaro +22.381 150
8 United StatesKyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet Camaro +22.469 150
9 Brandon Jones United StatesRichard Childress Racing Chevrolet Camaro +26.721 150
10 United StatesJustin Allgaier United StatesJR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro +36.096 150
11 United StatesAric Almirola United StatesBiagi-DenBeste Racing Ford Mustang +41.312 150
12 United StatesBlake Koch Kaulig Racing Chevrolet Camaro +41.729 150
13 Brennan Poole Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet Camaro +1 lap 149
14 United StatesRyan Reed United StatesRoush Fenway Racing Ford Mustang +1 lap 149
15 United StatesErik Jones United StatesJoe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry +1 lap 149
16 United StatesJeb Burton United StatesRichard Petty Motorsports Ford Mustang +1 lap 149
17 United StatesTy Dillon United StatesRichard Childress Racing Chevrolet Camaro +1 lap 149
18 Corey LaJoie United StatesJGL Racing Toyota Camry +1 lap 149
19 United StatesRoss Chastain United StatesJD Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro +1 lap 149
20 United StatesRyan Blaney United StatesTeam Penske Ford Mustang +2 laps 148
21 United StatesJeremy Clements United StatesJeremy Clements Racing Chevrolet Camaro +2 laps 148
22 United StatesDakoda Armstrong United StatesJGL Racing Toyota Camry +2 laps 148
23 United StatesGarrett Smithley United StatesJD Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro +2 laps 148
24 United StatesSpencer Gallagher United StatesGMS Racing Chevrolet Camaro +2 laps 148
25 United StatesRyan Preece United StatesJD Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro +2 laps 148
26 CanadaMario Gosselin United StatesKing Autosports Chevrolet Camaro +3 laps 147
27 United StatesJ.J. Yeley United StatesTriStar Motorsports Toyota Camry +3 laps 147
28 United StatesJoey Gase United StatesJimmy Means Racing Chevrolet Camaro +5 laps 145
29 United StatesRyan Sieg United StatesRSS Racing Chevrolet Camaro +5 laps 145
30 Todd Peck United StatesRick Ware Racing Chevrolet Camaro +9 laps 141
31 Cody Ware United StatesRick Ware Racing Chevrolet Camaro +10 laps 140
32 United StatesMike Harmon United StatesMike Harmon Racing Dodge Challenger +11 laps 139
33 United StatesB.J. McLeod BJ McLeod Motorsports Ford Mustang +55 laps 95
34 Derrike Cope Derrike Cope Racing Chevrolet Camaro +61 laps 89
35 United StatesHarrison Rhodes United StatesObaika Racing Chevrolet Camaro +66 laps 84
36 United StatesDylan Lupton United StatesRSS Racing Chevrolet Camaro +94 laps 56
37 Ray Black Jr. United StatesSS-Green Light Racing Chevrolet Camaro +106 laps 44
38 United StatesDavid Starr United StatesTriStar Motorsports Toyota Camry +120 laps 30
39 United StatesJosh Wise United StatesMBM Motorsports Toyota Camry +132 laps 18
40 United StatesMatt DiBenedetto United StatesTriStar Motorsports Toyota Camry +148 laps 2

Feel free to comment on this article or any article of your choosing over at forum.getmoresports.com

 

 

 

Written by Erik the Hun

Erik's love of sports and passion for handicapping dates back over 25 years.

In fact, his handicapping angles and fantasy knowledge separates him from your common savant.

As the co-host of Get more Sport's College Football Throwdown, The Hun also brings his spirit and tenacity to the college football industry, and can fill all your Handicapping and Fantasy needs. He is currently covering the automotive and the college football sections at getmoresports.com

Syracuse Orange – Gonzaga Bulldogs Preview – 03.25.2016

Jimmie Johnson: Six-Time NASCAR Champion