For the first time this season, Richard Childress Racing has something to celebrate as a team: both of its drivers finished inside the top 10 in a NASCAR Cup Series race. The breakthrough came at the iconic Watkins Glen road course, where smart strategy and gritty driving turned a solid weekend into a statement result.
Austin Dillon drove to a sixth-place finish in the Go Bowling at The Glen, marking his first top 10 of the season. Not far behind, teammate Kyle Busch crossed the line in eighth—his second top 10 in the last three races. The double finish is a welcome boost for RCR, a team known for its rich history but hungry for consistent results in 2023.
So, how did they pull it off? It all came down to a bold pit strategy. “We didn’t really worry about tires when we short-pitted, and that got us our track position at the end of the stage,” Dillon explained after the race on the 2.45-mile road course. “After that, we were able to maintain, and it was fun saving fuel there behind Chase Briscoe. I probably should have pushed a little harder because I actually made it back all the way around on fuel. So, I did a good job on saving fuel, which was cool.”
The race wasn’t without its tense moments between the teammates. Dillon laughed about a late-race scare: “He scared me into the bus stop with like two to go. He just gave up on saving fuel, and he ran out at the finish line. That was kind of fun getting him back by the line.”
For Kyle Busch, the eighth-place finish was a testament to perseverance. After qualifying 21st, the veteran driver had to fight his way forward. “We made the adjustments and strategy calls we needed to drive forward and make up track position,” Busch said. “Despite battling a car that trended tight throughout the race, we knew we had a top-10 car for most of the day.”
Meanwhile, A.J. Allmendinger—widely regarded as one of NASCAR’s best road racers—once again proved his mettle on the winding Watkins Glen circuit. He posted a seventh-place finish, his first top 10 since the season’s third race at Circuit of The Americas, where he placed ninth. “That was a crazy race,” Allmendinger said of the 100-lap event. “I thought when we started, the No. 16 Chevrolet was pretty good. We just still had some of the same issues we’ve been fighting. After around 12-14 laps, it hits a cliff and gets loose. We got some stage points, but that put us a little behind in strategy. It was just as tough to pass, so I thought we were going to be in for a long day.”
With Watkins Glen in the rearview mirror, RCR has momentum on its side—and a reminder that sometimes, the best finishes come from smart gambles and a little bit of fuel-saving magic.