Austin Dillon stirred up controversy with his bold final lap move at Richmond, where he took out Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin in the last turn to secure victory and clinch his spot in the playoffs. The incident left both Logano and Hamlin fuming at the #3 car driver.
In his defense, Dillon justified his actions in a post-race interview, calling the move “a part of our sport” and pointing out that both Hamlin and Logano have made similar moves to win in the past.
NASCAR Insider Jordan Bianchi, however, voiced support for Dillon’s move during an appearance on the Dirty Mo Media podcast. Bianchi stated, “It’s fair because this is the system. Is it right? Is it ethical? No. Is it good sportsmanship? No, it’s none of those things. But this is the system. The system is when, at all costs, you win to get in the playoffs, you win to advance, and you find a way to get the job done.”
He added, “We’ve seen numerous instances since this format was introduced in 2014. Whether it was Harvick at Talladega, Newman and Kyle Larson at Phoenix—the list goes on. They don’t take away wins in these situations. They let these things stand.”
Joey Logano, who was on track for his second win of the season before the incident, finished a disappointing 19th and didn’t hold back his frustration in his post-race comments. Logano angrily remarked, “Chickenshit, there’s no doubt about it. He’s 4 car lengths back, then he wrecked the 11. And then he goes up there and thanks God with his baby. It’s a bunch of BS. It’s ridiculous that that’s the way we race. I get bump and run, I do that… what a piece of crap.”
With the Richmond win, Austin Dillon and Richard Childress Racing secured their spot in the playoffs. As the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Michigan International Speedway after the Olympics break, other drivers like Bubba Wallace, who finished fourth, continue to battle for playoff positions. Meanwhile, Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch’s struggles at Richmond have further jeopardized their playoff hopes.
