NASCAR released the highly anticipated penalty report following this weekend’s Craftsman Truck & Cup Series actions at Richmond Raceway including the controversial finish during Sunday’s Cup event.
Per the report, Austin Dillon, winner of Sunday’s Cook Out 400, has been stripped of his Playoff eligibility he initially achieved by winning the race. The penalty is a result of how the 2018 Daytona 500 champion from Welcome, North Carolina, claimed the victory, where he bumped and sent the leader Joey Logano for a spin through Turns 3 and 4 on the final lap. Dillon then veered dead left and sent Denny Hamlin, who was trying to overtake both, into the frontstretch’s outside wall and proceeded to claim the checkered flag for the victory, all during an overtime shootout.
The on-track actions Dillon made were ones he chose to perform as last-resort actions to both win and race his way into the Playoffs, as he evoked while celebrating the victory on the frontstretch despite receiving harsh criticism from his fellow competitors, including Logano and Hamlin, and eventually leading to NASCAR emphasizing that Dillon crossed the line upon a three-day review.
In addition to having his Playoff eligibility revoked, Dillon and his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 team were docked 25 driver/owner points. As a result, Dillon, who jumped from 32nd to a guaranteed top-16 result in the standings, is strapped back in 31st place in the regular-season standings.
“I think in all due respect to the appeal process, we looked at this and the totality of everything that happened as you enter Turn 3 and as the cars got to the start/finish line,” Elton Sawyer, NASCAR’s Senior Vice President of Competition, said. “So, as we look through all of that data, we came to the conclusion that a line had been crossed. Our sport has been based going for many, many years, forever, on good, hard racing. Contact has been acceptable. We felt like, in this case, that the line was crossed.”
While Dillon received no race suspensions amid his actions, Brandon Benesch, Dillon’s spotter, was assessed a three-race suspension, beginning this weekend at Michigan, due to his concise vocalization of encouraging Dillon to “wreck him” in reference to Denny Hamlin approaching the finish line. Despite the phrase “wreck him” being heard through the in-car audio, team owner Richard Childress and Dillon’s crew chief Justin Alexander denied hearing the audio phrase while defending Dillon’s move.
“If you look at at the crew chief and you look at the spotter, and view them as calming voices in the driver’s ear, in this case, we just felt like we’ve all listened to the audio,” Sawyer added. “We know exactly what was said. We just felt like that that’s not what we need spotters doing. That’s not what we need [from a] crew chief sitting on the box. They’re a calming voice to what the situation is in front of them, and they’re supposed to be spotting for the race, not making comments like were made, as we all know.”
Nonetheless, Dillon is still credited as the official winner of last Sunday’s event at Richmond. He is also eligible to reclaim his 2024 Playoff eligibility status if he were to win any one of the remaining three regular-season events on the schedule, beginning this upcoming Sunday at Michigan International Speedway.
In addition, Joey Logano, who ended up in 19th place after getting hit and spun by Dillon, has also been penalized with a $50,000 fine for violating NASCAR’s Member Code of Conduct policy. Logano’s penalty is a result of the 2018 Cup Series champion getting his damaged car sideways while nursing it through pit road following the checkered flag and nearly sideswiped several personnel, including officials, Dillon’s crew and family members near Dillon’s pit box while venting his frustration. Immediately after parking his car, a NASCAR official angrily confronted Logano inside of his cockpit for his actions before the confrontation simmered as Logano angrily exited his car and proceeded to call out Dillon for his actions to the media.
“Some of this, we’ve got some work to do on our side,” Sawyer said while referencing Logano’s actions that led to the penalty. “There was a lot of people on pit road, and there always is. We have our officials out there. The drivers need to understand that. Totally understand the emotion — I get it, I’ve been there a few years back. But you have to respect the fact that we do have people on pit road. Our officials will be there, security will be there. We’ll do a better job on our side to make sure that families and young children and sponsors and of that nature are not on the hot side.”
Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin, who ended up in the runner-up spot despite getting wrecked by Dillon approaching the finish line and was quick to criticize NASCAR for not taking immediate action to penalize competitors for wrecking one another for victories, was not penalized.
With Dillon currently bumped out of the 2024 Cup Series Playoff field, Chris Buescher, who exited Richmond three points below the top-16 cutline to make the Playoffs, is now above the cutline on a tie-breaker against Ross Chastain. In addition, Martin Truex Jr., Ty Gibbs and Bubba Wallace have each been elevated one spot up in the Playoff field.
Saturday’s Craftsman Truck Series event at Richmond, which served as the 2024 regular-season finale and was won by Ty Majeski, did not generate any team penalties.
With the Craftsman Truck Series entering an off-week period, the NASCAR Xfinity Series returns to action following a four-week absence at Michigan International Speedway for the Cabo Wabo 250 this upcoming Saturday, August 17, at 3:30 p.m. ET on USA Network. The Cup Series also returns to action at Michigan for the FireKeepers Casino 400 on Sunday, August 18, at 2:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.
