RICHMOND, Va. -- Austin Dillon winning at Richmond Raceway will long be remembered due to contact that wrecked Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin. A more immediate concern for other drivers, however, is the fact that this win shook up the playoff bubble.
Dillon was 32nd in points entering the race at Richmond. He was well below the cutline while four drivers had tentative spots based on their point totals. Ross Chastain was the first driver above the cutline. He had a seven-point advantage over Bubba Wallace. Chris Buescher was the next driver on the leaderboard at 17 points to the good.
Martin Truex Jr. and Ty Gibbs were the other two drivers above the cutline.
Dillon's win took away one of these spots, and it moved the cutline. Now only three spots remain. Truex is 78 points above the cutline after a blown engine led to him finishing last at Richmond.
Gibbs is now only 18 points above the cutline. Wallace is the last driver in a playoff spot. He is three points to the good after he scored nine stage points and finished fourth. Chastain finished fifth but missed out on stage points, so he fell to three points below the cutline.
Buescher had the worst race of the bubble drivers. He only scored three stage points, but he had an issue during a green flag pit stop. He went to leave his stall but had to back up because the left front tire was not tight. Buescher finished 18th with 22 total points. He also fell to three points below the cutline.
While Dillon's win changed the playoff bubble, the drivers contending for the regular-season championship kept the pressure on points leader Kyle Larson.
Tyler Reddick, who finished Sunday night's race in third place, is now only five points back of Larson. He is in a position to take the lead with only three races remaining in the regular season. However, he can not afford any setbacks.
Chase Elliott is only one point behind Reddick and six points behind Larson. He scored six stage points and finished ninth. Now he is in contention for the second regular-season championship of his Cup career, as well as the 15 bonus points.
The battle at the top of the Cup standings and the ones at the cutline will continue for three more weeks. Drivers will try to lock up wins and as many points as possible at Michigan (Aug. 18), Daytona (Aug. 24), and Darlington (Sept. 1).