Austin Dillon came out of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series showdown in St Louis still fighting for his playoff life.

The 35-year-old Welcome, North Carolina, native left Gateway still below the playoff cutline following another tough day at the office. Dillon would eventually come home in 18th position as the dust settled on the Enjoy Illinois 300.

As Joe Gibbs Racing were celebrating a 1-2 courtesy of Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe, Dillon was evidently fighting his own No. 3 Chevrolet car in a bid to boost his and Richard Childress Racing's own postseason hopes.

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Austin Dillon team radio rant

The extent of that struggle was revealed in one particularly telling exchange with his crew on team radio, when he unleashed a brutal verdict on the machinery underneath him.

In response to instructions on his radio, he fumed: "Quit telling me how to drive, I'm driving a piece of s***, I'm trying to hang onto it."

If just trying to get home in one piece was not enough for the Richard Childress Racing star, Dillon also had the added misery of colliding with brother Ty, sending him into a spin which brought a caution in Stage 2.

Oh brother - Austin wrecks Ty

Austin was quick to apologize over radio for that moment, admitting: “Yeah I'm f****** loose. I would never want to do that. I f****** just lost it. I'm so sorry."

Dillon followed up post-race with a fuller apology, once again doubling down on just how bad his car had been during Sunday’s race.

"I got to apologize to Ty and Kaulig. If I want to spin out under anybody, it ain't him. It's any of these other cats I would have rather done that too. I felt like an idiot doing that. Our cars were just terrible. We had no grip on entry."

Austin is now on the verge of an early playoff KO as he heads to Bristol for Saturday’s elimination race in the Round of 16 (7.30pm ET, USA).

He currently sits in 13th position in the standings, some 11 points below the cutline.

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