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BROOKLYN, Mich. — Shockwaves from Austin Dillon’s overtime victory at Richmond Raceway last weekend — and the subsequent penalty that came to the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet team — continued at Michigan International Speedway, where Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano both discussed the infraction, their opinions on the decision and the message it sends moving forward.
“I mean, every time that something happens, you’re going to go back to a previous event and say, OK, is that OK? Or is that not OK?” Joey Logano said. “There’s no doubt that lines were crossed. Right? That’s what they all came to conclusion with when they when they handed down the penalties, but that’s what you’re going to go off of for now on.”
“I am,” Denny Hamlin said when asked if he agreed with NASCAR’s decision. “In the moment, you wish — well, if you just take the win, then everything fixes itself than kind of having this split decision, but as I understand it, there is some iffy language in the rule book on if can you really go back and take a win at this point. I think in the future, you just send whoever it is to the back, and it all fixes itself. You don’t have to worry about playoff eligibility and stuff like that. Given how much time it took, it was probably the right call.”
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Fireworks during last weekend’s Richmond bout were kindled by Dillon’s bumping maneuver coming out of Turn 4 on the final lap of overtime, which resulted in Hamlin finishing second and Logano 19th, respectively. The move, which subsequently sparked conversations online among fans, industry experts and drivers alike — eventually culminated with officials making the decision to let Dillon and the No. 3 camp keep the win but not have it count toward playoff eligibility. RCR has since planned to appeal the decision, and it will be heard on Wednesday at the NASCAR R&D Center.
Hamlin said he has not spoken to Dillon since the Richmond incident. However, while Richmond’s bruiser might have sparked frustration from Hamlin during the race, the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing driver does not hold ill will.
“I just think — I don’t have anything negative to say about this with Austin (Dillon),” Hamlin said. “I really don’t have anything negative to say about his character. I really stuck up for him quite a bit earlier in this year, when he was going through some pretty tough finishes and things like that, and talking about how I really respected his character, and I still do. He just was put in a really tough spot, where you have to make a split-second decision, and he made one that was not in the, in my opinion, best interest of the sport. People make mistakes, and I believe everyone deserves second chances.”
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Logano, who was additionally fined $50,000 for post-race actions when he spun the tires of his No. 22 Team Penske Ford in anger near the No. 3 team’s Richmond pit box, understood the penalty issued to him. The two-time Cup Series champion additionally made mention of how tough of a position the situation was to call.
“Yeah. I mean, like, the penalty is the penalty,” Logano said. “And, you know, is it right that the win was taken away? Absolutely, or at least the stuff that goes along with it that matters. Did it make it right for me? No, I’m still sitting here last car on the lead lap after all that, so it’s still not right in my book. But what are they going to do, right? It kind of puts them in a tough spot. The only option is to go back to the last lap, or the loop going into Turn 3. You know, if you’re going to put the leader back in the leader spot. I don’t know if that’s their intentions or not. If that’s them, I don’t really know, but that’s … I will say they probably need to make the call quicker, right?”
Hamlin and Logano are scheduled to start first and 14th, respectively, in Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan (2:30 p.m. ET, USA, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App). Dillon, meanwhile, will roll off in 10th. And while last weekend’s aftereffects won’t be forgotten less than a week later, more clarity has since been found when deeming what is acceptable.
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“I believe so. I believe that hard racing is still OK,” Hamlin said. “I think if two cars are battling side-by-side and one of them hits the wall because of close racing that is going to be deemed OK. I think if you come from a long way back — you were not going to win the race until you decided to wreck someone, I think that is a clear line in the sand, but sometimes balls and strikes aren’t totally clear. There is one right on the edge, and you have to call it, but it is up to us to make the decision. Do we want to put ourselves in that position where it could be called one way or the other? I think that you just have to live with the result. I think if NASCAR polices it and intentional wrecks for the win going forward, there is going to be some close calls, but you put yourself in that spot, so you are going to live with the result and the ruling on it.”
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