RICHMOND, Va. – Austin Dillon crashed both drivers in front of him on the final lap to win Sunday night’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway, resulting in one of NASCAR’s most controversial finishes in recent years.
Joey Logano was well ahead going into the final corner of the race, but Dillon did not slow down for the corner and hit Logano, sending him into a spin. Then, as Denny Hamlin passed under Dillon, who had momentarily slowed down, the Richard Childress Racing driver hit Hamlin’s right rear, sending Hamlin into the wall.
Because NASCAR has few penalties for aggressive driving, judges awarded him the victory, despite the anger of other competitors.
“That’s chicken,” said Logano, who finished 19th. “No question about it. He’s four car lengths back, it’s not even close. And then you crash (Hamlin) and then he goes out there and thanks God and takes all the credit with his car. It’s total nonsense. It’s not even close.”
“Hey, bump and run, I get it. I wasn’t backing around the corner. He came there and went by me. It’s ridiculous that we raced like that. I can’t believe it.”
Earlier this year, NASCAR issued an aggressive driving penalty to Truck Series driver Lane Riggs for hitting Stephen Parsons during a race. NASCAR has suspended drivers who hit other competitors with their right rear tire, citing safety concerns.
NASCAR took no action regarding Dillon immediately after the race, and he is currently in the NASCAR playoffs as he needs one more win to qualify.
“A line has been crossed, but it’s an invisible line,” Hamlin said. “It’s not clearly defined. I mean, there are rules and regulations against this sort of thing, but they never take action.”
Dillon was desperate to qualify for the NASCAR playoffs after coming into Richmond 32nd and not leading a lap all season, and even before a late caution sent the race into overtime, he was already going to win the race, which would have been a shocking upset.
But his approach has sparked controversy.
“I hated it, but I had to do it,” Dillon said, “no matter what.”
“I saw that No. 3 car do stuff like that a lot,” Richard Childress Racing interim competition director Keith Rodden said, referring to the late Dale Earnhardt.
“Unfortunately, you do what you have to do. He has to play in the playoffs.”
(Photo by Logan Whitton/Getty Images)
