Austin Dillon 2020 season in review

Austin Dillon equaled his best career finish in the NASCAR Cup Series standings, 11th, after making the playoffs for the fourth time.

Dillon returned to Victory Lane for the first time since the 2018 Daytona 500 when he won the O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway in July. Dillon, who took two tires under caution on Lap 307, was able to hold off his Richard Childress Racing teammate Tyler Reddick and the field through two additional restarts in the final 22 laps to claim his third career win.

Dillon was out front in six races in 2020 for a career season-best 135 laps led. He led 55 laps at Richmond Raceway to score his second consecutive top five to open the playoffs.

Entering the Round of 12, Dillon was the eighth seed, but a 32nd-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway dropped him to 12th. Dillon scored stage points in the opening two stages until he was forced to pit road for repairs when he lost steering and the water pressure gauge pegged at 400 degrees.

Dillon finished 12th at Talladega Superspeedway and 19th at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval to miss advancing to the Round of 8 by 38 points.

Dillon ended the season with one win, four top fives and nine top 10s in 35 starts. His top fives and top 10s were the most he's had in a season since 2016. Dillon missed the race at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course after testing positive for COVID-19. Kaz Grala filled in, finishing an admirable seventh in his Cup Series debut.

Dillon: "For me personally, it was a great year on and off the track. We made the NASCAR Playoffs and my son Ace was born. We have some of the best partners in NASCAR and will continue to work hard for them."