Denny Hamlin recently commented on the controversy surrounding Austin Dillon’s actions during the race at Richmond. Dillon won his first race since August 2022 in his first outing following NASCAR’s two-week layoff, moving from 32nd in the Cup Series playoffs. However, Hamlin accused Austin Dillon of intentionally causing an accident during Sunday’s race at Richmond International Raceway.
Dillon hit Joey Logano in turn 3 on the last lap, causing him to lose the lead. Hamlin’s No. 11 car was also involved in this event. In the latest episode of his Dirty Mo Media podcast, “Harmful Actions,” Hamlin used data from SMT (SportMotive Technologies) to claim that Dillon’s move was intentional. The 43-year-old gave a detailed analysis of the final laps of the race, saying Dillon’s actions were deliberate and not a racing incident.
“All three cars turned 70° to the left, you know, like a normal turn is when you turn the wheel about 30 to 35°, so double the amount, so everything you do to get a turning point,” he said . (11:25 a.m.)
Hamlin noted that Dillon’s corner exit was an exaggerated turn of 70 degrees, twice the angle of a normal corner exit, which caused his car to veer significantly. Let’s say it’s a steering angle of 35 °, you know he doubled that, after getting 22, and so yes, the natural movement is to start from the bottom of the track. “You don’t just follow the yellow line to the right to exit the corner. You walk straight up to the wall. I did a normal corner exit and you can usually see these things near the cars behind,” he said. (11:39)
Hamlin also spoke about the events leading up to the accident. He said he was aware that something could go wrong, but he didn’t expect the final moments of the race to unfold as they did. I think Joey Logo had a clear advantage and will win the race.
“You don’t even need technology to use your brain.” Denny Hamlin asks Nassar
In the episode, Denny Hamlin also asked why NASCAR does not use the technology available to analyze such incidents. He argued that it is clear to anyone with common sense that Dillon deliberately stole Logano, rather than it being a racing accident. “It wasn’t a racing incident. He didn’t try to take the normal corner. He continued to drive. If he has been contacted. If they can referee at the car track, why not? They don’t have the technology we have. You don’t need technology to use your brain,” Hamlin said. (40:12). Hamlin also believes that qualifying for the playoffs is not just about winning. He acknowledged that the mid-season rule change was impractical, but suggested that Nascar could still void the win if it was deemed an illegal racing maneuver.
