NASCAR takes Austin Dillon out of the playoffs
Sunday’s race at Richmond Raceway brought drama to the NASCAR Cup Series. Austin Dillon drove through the bumper of Joey Logano and then turned Denny Hamlin.
Watch the video of the final lap here
Austin Dillon drove to victory lane locked himself into the playoffs. However, the finish has brought controversy.
After the incident, team audio surfaced. The team told Dillon over the radio, “Down, down, down. Wreck him! C’mon, c’mon. F*** yeah!”
Austin Dillon’s team encouraged him to crash Logano, Hamlin (Audio)
Both Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano called for Dillon to be penalized.
Joey Logano stated, “It’s ridiculous that that’s the way we race. Unbelievable. I get bump-and-runs, I do that. I would expect it. But, from four car lengths back, he was never going to make the corner.”
Denny Hamlin stated, “But, I think there’s probably people in Daytona that love this shit. And they’re the ones that are sending this sport backwards.”
Denny Hamlin calls out NASCAR after Austin Dillon crashes him
Joey Logano’s actions on pit lane at Richmond Raceway
After the incident, Joey Logano was heated. As cars were in line to get on pit lane after the race, Logano created his own lane and drove by them.
A crowd of people from the No. 3 team waited in the center of the pit lane to cross the infield. Logano pulled directly toward them, making them and NASCAR officials jump out of the way.
Logano then pulled a burnout on the pit lane. An official walked right toward Logano, pointing aggressively and telling him to stop.
Back in 2021, Kyle Busch was heated after a crash in the NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway. In a similar incident, he drove quickly through the infield entry on the pit lane, near people walking. He was fined $50,000 for his actions.
NASCAR driver Kyle Busch fined $50,000
NASCAR penalty likely for Joey Logano (Video)
Richmond Raceway
Penalty Report
NASCAR Cup Series
Driver/Team: No. 22 Joey Logano
Date: 8/11/2024 (post-race)
Level: Behavioral
Sections: 4.4.B&D: NASCAR Member Conduct
Penalty: Driver has been fined $50,000.
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Driver/Team: No. 3 Austin Dillon
Date: 8/11/2024 (post-race)
Level: Behavioral
Sections 4.4.B&D: NASCAR Member Conduct; 10.1 A: General Procedure; 12.3.2.1 B: Eligibility
Penalty: Team assessed with the loss of 25 driver and owner points. The race finish will not count when determining eligibility for the Playoffs, Playoff points, or Playoff seeding
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Driver/Team: No. 3 Austin Dillon
Date: 8/11/2024 (post-race)
Level: Behavioral
Sections 4.4.B&D: NASCAR Member Conduct; 10.1 A: General Procedure
Penalty: Spotter (Brandon Benesch) has been suspended from the next three points events, through Darlington, September 1, 2024
RCR issues statement after the penalty to Austin Dillon
Links
Austin Dillon | Joey Logano | Denny Hamlin | Richmond Raceway | NASCAR
