Throughout the closing lap of final weekend’s NASCAR Cook dinner Out 400 at Richmond, Richard Childress Racing driver (and grandson of Childress) Austin Dillon unceremoniously dumped race chief Joey Logano, and hooked Denny Hamlin into the wall. All of this bash-em-up was completed in an effort to come back to the checkered flag first, which Dillon did. He was thirty second in factors going into the race weekend, and wanted to win a race so as to make the sequence playoffs. The transfer was a transparent act of desperation for the RCR driver, who has gone winless since August 0f 2022.
In my private race fan view of the crash, it was an actual chickenshit approach to win a race. NASCAR’s custom of not revoking race wins, even over probably harmful habits like this, introduced it into actuality. The tradition throughout the staff, with one crew member telling their driver to take the win “I don’t care the way you do it” and the spotter shouting “Wreck him! Wreck him!,” are regarding, if undeserving of penalty by itself.
After deliberating what it might do for 3 days, NASCAR lastly issued its ruling on Wednesday. The sequence likes to, because it had been, let followers go house realizing who received. That’s a means of claiming that it doesn’t revoke race victories. Dillon, nonetheless, was severely penalized for his actions. Richard Childress Racing has misplaced all eligibility for the staff homeowners’ championship, which it wasn’t threatening to win anyway, however extra importantly the staff and Dillon himself, had been docked 25 championship factors, and Dillon’s win is not going to rely towards postseason eligibility. The spotter has been suspended for the following three races.
Denny Hamlin, the driving force Dillon was instructed to wreck, has referred to as for NASCAR to take away spotters from the sequence altogether on the Door Bumper Clear podcast.
“I’m beginning to be increasingly more within the boat of do away with these silly spotters, man.
“[You] may not prefer it, and I do know it’ll by no means occur, and you may’t as a result of we have now superspeedways and it’s a security factor. However they’ve obtained to close the f*** up, man. They do, they’re not driving the automotive.”
Within the NASCAR rulebook for playoff eligibility, it states “[r]ace finishes should be unincumbered by violations of the NASCAR guidelines, or different actions detrimental to inventory automotive racing, or NASCAR, as decided within the sole discretion of NASCAR.” In easy phrases, Dillon fucked round and now he’s discovering out.
I’m glad the sequence truly had the need and skill to set this mistaken proper, and punish Austin Dillon for his actions.
NASCAR additionally fined Joey Logano for his annoyed actions in pit lane following the end. As Dillon’s crew had been operating throughout pit lane to rejoice with their driver, Logano was coming right down to his pit field after having been punted from near-certain race victory. Along with driving too near folks in his means, he romped on the throttle close to workers and NASCAR officers in a means that may very well be construed as threatening. He can pay a $50,000 nice for his actions.
