The four drivers currently sitting in the danger zone of the Round of 16 are Austin Dillon, trailing the cutline by 11 points; Shane van Gisbergen at minus 15; Alex Bowman down 35; and Josh Berry buried 45 points below the mark. When Steve Letarte and Kyle Petty joined NASCAR: Inside the Race to discuss which names might be done after Gateway, the two analysts found themselves at odds over Dillon’s fate.
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Petty argued all four were effectively eliminated last Sunday and considered them out of the running. Letarte pushed back, insisting Dillon kept a flicker of hope alive.
“I think the #3 car was eliminated showing up to St. Louis [Gateway], and they leave St. Louis making sure that Chastain and Cindric eliminate them. They flipped the pressure in my mind,” he said.
Letarte pointed out that Dillon managed to manufacture points with what looked like one of the weakest cars in the field. He continued, “What Austin Dillon did today was manufacture points with perhaps one of the worst cars in the field.
“And I think what the #3 did is they gave themselves another big gulp of fresh air… The #3 car raced and called a race today like they wanted to be in the play.”
Letarte added that it almost sounded like Briscoe’s crew chief was just trying to salvage the run by focusing on collecting stage points, given how difficult the day had been.
He drew his line in the sand: “I disagree with KP. I think that Berry, Bowman, and SVG; it would take an absolute miracle, but I think Austin Dillon has new lifeblood going to Bristol.”
He didn’t go so far as to predict Dillon would advance, but he made clear that Bristol gives him a fighting chance. In Letarte’s view, Dillon could slip through while Austin Cindric ends up on the wrong side of the cut.
Meanwhile, Dillon also admitted he wrestled with a car that gave him fits all afternoon, dropping from 15th on the grid to 18th at the checkered flag. The numbers tell the story: RCR’s equipment has left both Dillon and Kyle Busch climbing uphill every week.
Frustration boiled over in Dillon’s cockpit as he battled below the cutline, desperate for points while his Chevrolet refused to cooperate. For Dillon to turn the tide, Richard Childress Racing must bring a faster car to Bristol, or any shot of advancing will vanish in the rearview.
