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Concord, N.C. • The horde of 20-somethings and teenagers like Chase Elliott, Erik Jones and William Byron poised to take over NASCAR seems to grow larger every week. It might be time to add an older name in Austin Dillon to the "Who's next?" breakout list.

Dillon, a NASCAR veteran at 27, pulled off a stunning upset at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday night, staying out of the pit on the final laps to make up ground and capture the Coca-Cola 600 with established winners Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. charging hard. Dillon had enough fuel to last to the checkered flag after sweeping past out-of-gas Jimmie Johnson two laps from the end.

The win gave Dillon his first trophy in the Cup series, brought the iconic No. 3 back to victory lane for the first time in 17 years and gave a boost to the team owned by his grandfather, Hall of Famer Richard Childress. Did it also put Dillon front and center among the next wave of racers supplanting retired or departing stars like Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards and, after this season, Dale Earnhardt Jr.?

"It's all about performance. Those guys are performing, so they're going to talk about them," Dillon said. "I knew we could do it, we've just got to do it more consistently. When we do, they'll talk about us, too."

Dillon's performance at Charlotte had lots of people talking.

His new crew chief, Justin Alexander, saw no other strategy for Dillon at the end than to stay out while most other contenders pitted with 35 laps or so left. It was a gutsy move from Alexander, helming his first race with Dillon after being tapped for the job last Monday.

While there's a long way for Dillon's team to go, the victory most likely locks Dillon into the 16-team playoff at the end of the season for a second straight year. And it gives the team the rest of the regular season to test setups and packages that might succeed in those final 10 races. —

NASCAR lineup

Monster Energy AAA 400

At Dover International Speedway

Dover, Del.

Lap length: 1 mile

(Car number in parentheses)

1. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 158.954 mph.

2. (78) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 158.877.

3. (19) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, 158.346.

4. (20) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 158.221.

5. (42) Kyle Larson, Chevy, 158.179.

6. (41) Kurt Busch, Ford, 158.144.

7. (77) Erik Jones, Toyota, 157.680.

8. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 157.384.

9. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevy, 157.109.

10. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 157.034.

11. (88) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevy, 156.270.

12. (17) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 155.999.

13. (31) Ryan Newman, Chevy, 157.646.

14. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevy, 157.542.

15. (21) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 157.446.

16. (24) Chase Elliott, Chevy, 157.336.

17. (6) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 157.295.

18. (4) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 157.260.

19. (1) Jamie McMurray, Chevy, 157.157.

20. (5) Kasey Kahne, Chevy, 157.013.

21. (13) Ty Dillon, Chevy, 156.740.

22. (14) Clint Bowyer, Ford, 156.672.

23. (27) Paul Menard, Chevy, 156.447.

24. (47) AJ Allmendinger, Chevy, 156.420.

25. (32) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, 156.406.

26. (22) Joey Logano, Ford, 156.236.

27. (34) Landon Cassill, Ford, 156.203.

28. (95) Michael McDowell, Chevy, 156.067.

29. (37) Chris Buescher, Chevy, 155.709.

30. (43) Regan Smith, Ford, 155.602.

31. (10) Danica Patrick, Ford, 155.427.

32. (23) Gray Gaulding, Toyota, 154.712.

33. (38) David Ragan, Ford, 154.586.

34. (83) Ryan Sieg, Toyota, 153.100.

35. (72) Cole Whitt, Chevy, 151.924.

36. (15) Ross Chastain, Chevy, 151.656.

37. (66) Timmy Hill, Chevy, 150.855.

38. (51) Cody Ware, Chevy, 150.075.

39. (33) Jeffrey Earnhardt, Chevy, 149.775.