After a three-race suspension was handed down to Austin Dillon’s spotter, veteran Brett Griffin will step in as the new spotter for the #3 Richard Childress Racing team for the next three weeks. In the meantime, RCR has announced their intention to appeal the penalties imposed by NASCAR following Dillon’s contentious victory at Richmond.
During the Cook Out 400, Dillon ended a 68-race winless streak, but not without controversy, as he collided with two competitors on the final lap. Consequently, NASCAR has disqualified the 34-year-old from participating in the 2024 playoff rounds and deducted 25 points from both his driver and owner standings.
Additionally, Dillon’s spotter, Brandon Benesch, received a three-race suspension for his radio call, “Down low, wreck him,” which came just before Dillon bumped Joey Logano and subsequently made contact with Denny Hamlin.
In a recent update on X (formerly Twitter), seasoned spotter Brett Griffin announced that he would be stepping in for Benesch as the spotter for the RCR team for the last three races of the regular season. Griffin shared his thoughts, stating:
“Some will be thrilled about this, while others will complain like little bi**hes. I’m excited to support the 3 guys over the next three weeks alongside Jesse Love and his crew. Let’s aim for a victory, boys.”
Benesch had also been the spotter for Jesse Love, who drives the #2 Chevrolet for RCR in the Xfinity Series. With Benesch now suspended, Griffin, who co-hosts the Dirty Mo Media podcast, will take on the spotting duties for both Love and Dillon during the NASCAR weekend at Michigan International Speedway.
“He wrecked two of the biggest a**holes in the sport,” Brett Griffin remarked about Austin Dillon’s contentious win at Richmond.
Austin Dillon found himself in the spotlight and faced penalties from NASCAR after a dramatic final lap at Richmond Raceway, where he collided with two fellow Cup Series drivers to secure the win.
In a recent episode of the Door Bumper Clear podcast, Brett Griffin offered his perspective on the controversial final lap incident, asserting that both Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin have a history of crashing their way to victory. Griffin remarked:
“The three biggest villains in our sport are Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, and Joey Logano. Kyle Busch has been a bit quieter lately. They can be quite arrogant. They often take out others to secure wins.”
“How many times has Denny pushed others aside to claim victory? And what about Joey Logano? I have a personal fondness for both of them; they’re genuinely good guys. But they’ve taken out some of the biggest troublemakers in the sport,” Griffin continued.
Although Griffin hasn’t been a full-time spotter in recent years, he has been working with the #33 RCR’s part-time entry in NASCAR. He achieved his best finish of the season with Ty Dillon during the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
As NASCAR prepares for the upcoming weekend in Michigan, it will be interesting to see how the new duo of #3 Dillon and Griffin performs.
