RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Desperate to win for the first time in nearly two years — and with the race suddenly slipping away — Austin Dillon sent two cars into the wall in quick succession.
The result was a season-changing victory, an avalanche of controversy and at least two veteran drivers who were absolutely furious.
“I hate to do that, but sometimes you just gotta have it,” Dillon said.
Dillon raced and powered his way to victory on Sunday night, leaving Joey Logano confused in the final round to win in overtime in Richmond. It was his first victory since August 28, 2022 in Daytona. He only managed two top-10 finishes this year and entered the race in 32nd place in the standings. Now he’s on track for the play-offs, but he didn’t get there quietly.
Dillon seemed on his way to a victory when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Ryan Preece collidedforcing the first caution of the entire 400-lap, 300-mile race, excluding the pre-scheduled races after the end of the first two stages.
So the drivers went into overtime and Logano clearly got the upper hand over Dillon on the restart. Then Dillon got right behind Logano and spun him.
“It’s ridiculous that we race this way. Unbelievable,” said Logano. “I get punched and run. I do. I would expect it. But four car lengths back he would never make the corner again. And then he destroys the other car. He destroys the 11 that belong to it. What nonsense.”
The 11 was Denny Hamlin, who appeared to drive past Dillon on the inside after Dillon ran into Logano’s No. 22 car. Then Dillon hit the right rear portion of Hamlin’s car, also pushing him into the wall.
“He’s credited with the win, but it’s clear he’s not going to get far,” Hamlin said. ‘For things like that you have to pay back your contributions. But it’s worth it because they jump 20 positions in points. So I understand all that. There is no ill will there. I get it. I just hate that I was a part of it. It would have been nice if I wasn’t one of the two guys taken out in the last corner.”
Dillon emerged from all the chaos with a win in his No. 3 Chevrolet. That number was famously determined – often aggressively – by Dale Earnhardt. But times have changed since Earnhardt’s heyday, and Elton Sawyer, NASCAR’s Senior Vice President of Competition, made it clear that the end of this race would be looked at.
“In my opinion, this is very close to crossing the line,” Sawyer said.
However, it would be an extraordinary step to actually nullify the victory.
“Historically, it hasn’t been our DNA to take away race, but that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t set a precedent in the future,” Sawyer said. “We should look into it.”
Dillon appeared to be on his way to a much less controversial win after passing Hamlin for the lead with 29 laps to go. But then Stenhouse-Preece’s crash and subsequent restart put Dillon in danger of an embarrassing defeat.
Dillon said he tried to move Logano’s car, but hitting Hamlin was also an immediate reaction.
“I’ve seen Denny and Joey make moves that put people on the court to win,” Dillon said. “This was the first chance for me in two years to get a win. … I’ve seen a lot of things in NASCAR over the years where people move people, and it’s just part of our sport.”
Owner Richard Childress, Dillon’s grandfather, expressed a similar sentiment. Childress was also asked about possible audio of Dillon being told to trash another driver during the frantic finish.
‘I didn’t hear him and I was on the radio with him. We’ll see,” Childress said. “If he did that, he did a damn good job. He won the race.”
Hamlin finished second, followed by Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace and Ross Chastain. Dillon’s victory was not good news for Wallace and the other drivers in the playoff bubble.
“Nice to walk away from here with a top-five finish,” Wallace said. “We still have a long way to go. We just have to keep fighting. I think you can dump someone and pursue someone and it will be fine. It’s funny how that works.”
Christopher Bell won the first stage but was later penalized for speeding on pit lane and finished sixth. Daniel Suárez won the second stage.
Martin Truex Jr. was knocked out of the race early in the final stage by engine trouble. He remains the best winless driver in the standings.
APNASCAR: https://apnews.com/hub/nascar-racing