NASCAR CUP SERIES: COKE ZERO SUGAR 400

August 28, 2022

Austin Dillon

Frontstretch Quotes

An Interview with:

Q. Austin Dillon, welcome to the Playoffs. More gratifying to do it this way by racing for it versus the rain?

AUSTIN DILLON: 100%. Crazy phase. My wife was in there. She was dancing in the rain. I got upset. I said, Don't be doing that. She said, Lord, when you have faith like me, you don't have to worry about it. I was, like, Okay, okay. I got you, baby.

But Ace was back there with me. We were watching Paw Patrol, watching the Carolina Cowboys winning the PBR event. They said, Get ready.

We stayed ready. And I have to thank my teammate Tyler Reddick, Bretzri, Bass Pro Shops, everybody that makes this thing happen. Dow, who has been with me since my start. We have so many great partners. Chevrolet, Chevrolet, Chevrolet.

Man, we're in the Playoffs.

Q. Also what will be talked about is the move to get the lead. Walk me through going into turn one with Austin Cindric.

AUSTIN DILLON: There was a lot going on there. I knew that if we got to the white, I was afraid somebody would -- if I waited too long, I was afraid somebody would wreck behind us, so I wanted to go ahead and get the lead. We were able to get it.

I had a big run to him, and then I had my teammate, the 8, back there. I knew we were in good shape there to the end. He did a good job checking up any kind of run. Just a little too much push there, and got him loose. We went going.

Q. How hard was it to stay patient there? I know Pop Pop told you on the radio, Hey, don't go until the white flag lap. I knew you wanted to go earlier.

AUSTIN DILLON: I felt like I had good teammates and Chevrolet behind me. If I could get the lead, the 2 would not be able to hold onto the draft. We've done it in practice enough to know that you'll lose the tail, and it's hard to get back to it.

Q. How crazy is it that a body of work of a season, Austin, comes down to getting back on the lead lap right before a rainstorm, dodging a wreck, and then making this happen in the final 21 laps?

AUSTIN DILLON: It's crazy. You just never give up and have faith. We had some tough finishes this year, like Charlotte. I beat myself up over that. I made a good move and just didn't finish it off. Today we finished it off.

I'm so proud of these guys, and I'm glad to be going to Victory Lane.