Austin Dillon on radio rant: 'I've got to learn to keep my mouth shut'

Despite starting all the way back in 29th place and trading paint with teammate Paul Menard, Austin Dillon tied his career-best finish with a fourth-place run in Sunday's STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway.

Dillon wasn't the only good news for Richard Childress Racing, either, as all three of the team's drivers finished in the top 10.

Menard wound up eighth, two positions ahead of Ryan Newman, making for a strong day for the whole RCR squad.

Afterward, Dillon was apologetic for a radio rant after he and Menard got to bumping and banging in mid-race.

"I've got to learn to keep my mouth shut on the radio," said Dillon, who moved up to seventh in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points standings. "That's part of racing. I'm a fiery guy and it was fun today.  It's nice to see the front of a short track like that. Sometimes you've just got to grow up a little bit, but it's nice to be running up front."

As for any lingering hard feelings, Dillon didn't sound concerned.

"A lot of things happened today. It's Martinsville," he said. "Your head's hot. You say things you don't want to mean. Monday morning I'll talk to everybody and we'll figure it back out. ... I'll talk to Paul. Me and Paul are fine."

Still, the day was a lot more positive than negative for Dillon, as his strong finish showed.

"It was fun. I was excited," he said. "To start 29th and to drive up through there like we did is a testament to these guys and effort they put in.  ... We did a lot to help me as a driver today. Man, it was just a career day for the Dow Chevy here at Martinsville.  Looking forward to races to come.  I learned a lot today."