You’re right — it wasn’t the first time.
Austin Dillon’s bowling-for-racecars move to win Sunday night’s (Aug. 11) Cook Out 400 was hardly the first or only time in NASCAR’s 76-year history that a driver moved another driver for a race win. It’s not the first or only time a driver wrecked another driver for a race win.
It is, however, a signal of changing times.
As of press time, NASCAR had not penalized Dillon for hooking both Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin in the right rear on the final lap. It also hasn’t ruled it out.
There have a been a lot of comparisons between Dillon’s move and similar moves in the past, many of them performed by his predecessor in the Richard Childress Racing No. 3, Dale Earnhardt. One of the most cited races is the 1986 Miller High Life 400, also at Richmond.
In many ways, it’s a valid comparison. The moves look similar: a hook to the right-rear quarter of the lead car.
They aren’t exactly the same though. That’s not just due to the on-track circumstances either.
More on that in a bit. Here’s a side-by-side look at the two incidents, what they have in common … and why they aren’t the same.
What went down
Dillon had the best car in the field on Sunday. He made a clean pass for the lead with 28 laps to go and had the race in hand until an incident between two other drivers brought out the caution and forced an overtime restart. Had that not happened, Dillon would likely have won without incident.
Dillon got beat by Logano on the restart. Logano is more experienced at leading races, and it showed. Dillon didn’t have time to work on Logano, so he drove to Logano’s bumper and then into it, spinning the No. 22.
When that happened, Hamlin got by both. Dillon then hooked Hamlin into the outside wall.
Earnhardt also had the best car in the 1986 event, just the second race of the season. He led 299 of the 400 laps on the day, but circumstances had him battling Darrell Waltrip (coincidentally in the No. 11 car like Hamlin) for the win in the closing laps.
Waltrip put a bump and run on Earnhardt and moved him up the track to make a pass; Earnhardt tried a crossover move but couldn’t make it stick.
Earnhardt then hooked Waltrip, collecting several cars. Kyle Petty avoided the melee and won the race.
What’s the same
It…
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