“They gave Kyle Busch the wrong car”: Fans react as Austin Dillon registers fastest lap in Richmond practice 

After Richard Childress Racing driver Austin Dillon recorded the fastest lap in practice at Richmond Raceway on Saturday, NASCAR congratulated Dillon on his performance.

Fans were not pleased and made their feelings clear on social media. Someone even said that they had given Kyle Busch the wrong car. In the current Cup Series arena, Busch is the winningest driver at the Virginian racetrack with six wins under his belt. However, he finished 20th in that practice session.

Meanwhile, another fan predicted that Busch could bag his seventh win at the 0.75-mile racetrack on Sunday.

"This means one thing only, @KyleBusch will win Richmond," said @LeviSua_17.

Here are some more fan reactions on social media:

"Austin D**krider strikes again," said @nascarfanboi.

"He'll take the field out in the first lap, tomorrow," said @RyanHolman88.

"Still doesn’t feel right someone using that number," said @ppixley85.

Dillon drives the No. 3 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, the same number that the legendary Dale Earnhardt Sr. drove during his prime. He is currently 32nd in Cup standings with 294 points to his name.

The main event, i.e. the Cook Out 400, starts at 6 PM E.T. Fans can watch the 300-mile race live on the USA Network and NBC Sports. Radio updates will be available on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

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Austin Dillon's tire strategy shone amid Hendrick Motorsports' miseries

NASCAR gave the drivers two choices: (1) start the race on 'prime' tires and save the softer and faster 'option' tires for when needed, or (2) start on 'option' tires, gain positions early on in the race, then switch back to the harder ones. The teams were allotted three sets of regular tires and one set of 'option' tires each.

Dillon chose to start on the softer tires. As a result, he shot up to a speed of 118.953 miles per hour, which remained the fastest throughout practice. His teammate Busch appeared to have run the wall, but there was no serious damage to his No. 8 RCR Camaro.

23XI Racing's Bubba Wallace, Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Christopher Bell and Martin Truex Jr., and NASCAR Cup Series rookie Zane Smith all wound up in the top 5.

However, it was an uneventful session for Hendrick Motorsports, with Alex Bowman being their best finisher at 27th. Kyle Larson, who won this year's Brickyard 400, finished 32nd, followed by William Byron in 35th and the 2020 Cup Series champion Chase Elliott in 36th.

Nevertheless, JGR icon Denny Hamlin won the pole in qualifying, flaunting a speed of 118.162 mph and edging his teammate and the 2023 Cup Series regular-season champion, Martin Truex Jr. This means that Dillon will start P6 on row 3 alongside Bell.