Kyle Larson’s win at Indianapolis is now overshadowed. When the NASCAR world returned from its long Olympic hiatus, it woke up with a resounding bang. The final laps of the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway were spectacular, to say the least. Austin Dillon wrote his victory in seemingly impossible circumstances, even though the rules were not in his favor.
Dillon was in a bad position going into Richmond – he was 32nd overall. But the Goodyear tire strategy worked well in his hands, even if Austin Dillon made a mistake in the last lap, raising the ire of some experts who are asking for a harsh penalty.
Austin Dillon’s actions raise eyebrows
Naturally, the first to attack Austin Dillon were his opponents. The race at Richmond appeared to be out of Joey Logano’s hands after he crashed on the 398th lap. The Team Penske driver was one step ahead of Dillon until the checkered white flag. But seconds before the checkered flag, Dillon collided with Logano and sent him spinning. He then pushed Denny Hamlin off the road and sent them into Victory Lane.
Hamlin and Logano criticized Dillon’s aggressive tactics. Now, other NASCAR insiders are also calling on NASCAR to take tough action to make sure this situation doesn’t happen again. In an episode of Door, Bumper, Clear, TJ Majors explained why Hamlin’s entry did not justify Austin Dillon’s actions. “He was coming off the track, turning left, then he hit him… People were saying and then Danny came. Well, that’s the natural flow of turns… When you step on the throttle in turn 4, it’s supposed to take you up the track, not down it. »
Freddie Kraft then presented several possible trajectories to contain the situation. “There are two options that you can do to dissuade people from wanting to do this in the future. One of them is to suspend someone and not give them a waiver … it’s very unlikely that either of those things will happen. The other what’s to admit a huge playoff finish… You know, congratulations, you’re in the playoffs, here’s a 100-point finish. He also stressed the severity of the chaos. “You have to take this where people he doesn’t want to do it. »
Austin Dillon’s finish certainly drew attention, but it also scored a few points in NASCAR’s bad books. Elton Sawyer, NASCAR’s Senior Vice President of Competition, said: “It happened quickly, but I will say that if you look at it, in my opinion, we are really close to crossing the line.” But as the presenters of DBC point out, Denny Hamlin also agreed that NASCAR is soft on this “terrible” offender.
Hamlin calls out NASCAR
Incidents similar to Austin Dillon’s win have already resulted in heavy penalties. For example, a 2010 Xfinity Series race ended the same way. The winning driver collided with the lead car on the final lap to take the win, a move very similar to Dillon’s. But this Xfinity Series driver also received a $25,000 fine, probation and a 60-point demerit.
So after falling victim to Dillon’s attack at Richmond, Denny Hamlin pushed NASCAR to take action as soon as possible. “You’re the sanctioning body,” continued Denny Hamlin, putting the onus on NASCAR to make the right decision. “You’re the big guys in the room … you have to make tough decisions sometimes.
Sometimes you make the right decision even if it’s a difficult decision. … You can’t destroy two guys and then win a race and then reap the benefits of it.” Hamlin also hilariously attacked NASCAR for not being able to take a stand. “The sanctioning body should be big boys and make decisions for the big boys. »
Austin Dillon is clearly under fire for his Dale Earnhardt-inspired moves at Richmond. Let’s see how far NASCAR decides to go with their race judging.
