CUP: Loose wheel nut sends Austin Dillon into the wall early at Texas

SCREENSHOT: USA Network

by Brock Beard

LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief

Austin Dillon picked up the 4th last-place finish of his NASCAR Cup Series career in Sunday’s AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at the Texas Motor Speedway when his #3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet crashed after 40 of 267 laps.

The finish, which came in Dillon’s 366th series start, was his second of the season and first since Talladega, 20 races ago. In the Cup Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 19th for the #3, the 659th from a crash, and the 848th for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 31st for the #3, the 1,356th from a crash, and the 1,917th for Chevrolet.

While Dillon fell short of defending his 2022 spot in the Playoffs, he earned a few solid finishes through the regular season. He ran 10th in Kansas, 9th in the Coca-Cola 600, then led 12 laps on his way to a 9th-place run in Loudon, followed another 9th in Richmond. The Loudon weekend also saw him make his second XFINITY start of the year for Kaulig Racing, securing a 16th-place run and leading another four laps. The first three rounds of the Playoffs have resembled much of his races in between, taking 20th in Darlington, 33rd in Kansas, then 17th at Bristol.

At Texas, Dillon began the week with a 26th-fastest car in practice, then qualified 8th-fastest in Qualifying Round 1B, securing 13th on the grid with a lap of 187.520mph (28.797 seconds).

Securing the 36th and final starting spot for Sunday was Todd Gilliland, who due to his pre-season ride sharing deal with Truck Series regular Zane Smith was swapped back into Rick Ware Racing’s #51 Biohaven / Jacob Companies Ford. He’d be joined at the tail end by B.J. McLeod, the 34th-place qualifier in the #78 Gunk Chevrolet, for unapproved adjustments following work on both the fuel pump and cool box. Coming to the green, McLeod lined up behind Gilliland as the last car on the outside line. But the final two cars on the inside line were slow coming through the gears, dropping Zane Smith to 35th in the #38 Ambetter Health Ford ahead of new 36th-place runner J.J. Yeley in the #15 Patriot Mobile / Folds of Honor Ford, 3.91 seconds back of the lead.

By the end of Lap 1, Yeley dropped McLeod back to the 36th spot, 0.103 second behind the #15. McLeod’s spotter told him to stay on the inside in the corners, saying “there’s a little grip up there, just not enough to do anything with right now.” On Lap 5, 32nd-place starter Austin Cindric fell to 35th in his #2 Discount Tire Ford, which now ran just 0.199 ahead of McLeod. McLeod said he was “really free on entry,” and one lap later USA reported that McLeod’s cool suit had failed. McLeod made no mention of this on his radio’s primary channel, but did begin to lose touch with the 35th place. By Lap 13, the gap grew to 0.853 second, 1.063 on Lap 15, and 1.752 on Lap 17. Cindric dropped Gilliland back to 35th on Lap 18, which pulled McLeod within 1.364 behind the #51, then 1.064 on Lap 20.

On the 22nd circuit, McLeod reported his car was “super free,” and his 0.293 second gap to new 35th-place runner J.J. Yeley grew again, increasing to 0.719 on Lap 23, 1.120 on Lap 24, and 1.590 on Lap 25. The gap closed to just over a half-second the next time by, but once again the #78 lost ground, increasing to 2.189 seconds on Lap 30. The next time by, the leaders caught McLeod and put him the first car one lap down, moving past to his outside. Though he planned to short-pit during the opening run, McLeod instead came in on Lap 37 along with the first of the leaders. He was now two laps down as the pit cycle continued until the caution flew on Lap 42.

Austin Dillon had just made his green-flag stop around a lap earlier when his car snapped loose entering Turn 3. His right-rear wheel was improperly secured, causing the wheel nut to fly off, then the rim to carve itself free from the hub, separating from the tire. The separation sent Dillon’s car sliding driver’s side first into the outside wall directly in the path of Playoff contender Martin Truex, Jr. Truex somehow avoided contact, but Dillon climbed from his car on the apron, done for the day. He took over last on Lap 44, then the next time by the #3 was towed into the infield through a nearby opening on the apron of Turn 4. The car arrived at the team’s hauler by Lap 46, and was declared out by NASCAR on Lap 60.

Austin Dillon's car towed behind the wall at Turn 4. SCREENSHOT: NASCAR Drive

Declared out along with Dillon was Todd Gilliland, who likewise lost a wheel heading down the backstretch and made slight contact with the left-front corner. While the car was pointed forward without significant damage, Gilliland was told by track officials to climb from his car, ending his race. The car was also towed to the garage, done for the afternoon. The team discussed the matter and were told that cars on the “Damaged Vehicle Policy” would not be towed to pit road. 

The next spots in the Bottom Five filled quickly. Kyle Busch felt an issue in the right-front of his #8 3CHI Chevrolet. The team suggested he nurse the car to the end of Stage 1, believing he ran over debris. But on Lap 74, the car lost control in Turn 1 and backed into the outside wall. Busch managed to drive backwards onto pit road while losing just one lap, but was done for the day. Soon after, Ty Gibbs was eliminated when his #54 Interstate Batteries Toyota collided with teammate Denny Hamlin’s #11 FedEx Toyota coming off pit road. Hamlin recovered to finish 5th. Yeley rounded out the group when his #15 snapped loose in the closing stages and backed into the Turn 2 wall. Yeley had led Laps 115 and 212 by staying out during caution flag pit stops.

B.J. McLeod, who was running last before Dillon’s wreck, managed to complete the entire 400-mile distance, finishing on the lead lap in the 22nd spot – his best run since a 20th in Atlanta this past July. 

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This marked the first last-place finish for the #3 in a Cup Series race at Texas.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

36) #3-Austin Dillon / 40 laps / crash

35) #51-Todd Gilliland / 52 laps / crash

34) #8-Kyle Busch / 73 laps / dvp

33) #54-Ty Gibbs / 77 laps / crash

32) #15-J.J. Yeley / 241 laps / crash / led 2 laps

2023 LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Live Fast Motorsports, Richard Childress Racing, Rick Ware Racing, Spire Motorsports (4)

2nd) Joe Gibbs Racing, Penske Racing (3)

3rd) Legacy Motor Club (2)

4th) Front Row Motorsports, Hendrick Motorsports, Kaulig Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing, Trackhouse Racing (1)

2023 LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (17)

2nd) Ford (9)

3rd) Toyota (3)

2023 LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP