By David Morgan, Associate Editor
Following Sunday night’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway, Austin Dillon appeared to be Playoff bound for the first time in two years.
On Wednesday afternoon, that all changed.
The factors of Dillon’s victory, which saw him intentionally spin out leader Joey Logano and then hook Denny Hamlin over the course of the final half a lap to take the victory for himself, has had the sport embroiled in controversy ever since, leading many to wonder if Dillon had stepped over the line with his actions.
After three days of deliberation, NASCAR officials ruled that a line had indeed been crossed and responded in kind with their penalties.
Dillon’s victory will still stand, but all of the benefits that come with it, namely a place in the 16-driver Playoff field, have been removed. Dillon still remains eligible for the Playoffs should he be able to secure a win at any of the three remaining races in the regular season – Michigan, Daytona, or Darlington.
In addition, Dillon and his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing team have been docked 25 driver and owner points, dropping him to 31st in the 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,” NASCAR senior vice president of competition Elton Sawyer 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.”
Dillon’s Spotter in Hot Water for Richmond Radio Transmissions
Brandon Benesch, Dillon’s spotter, was also suspended for the next three events for his radio transmissions to Dillon over that final charge to the finish on Sunday night.
In a review of the transmissions, Benesch was overheard coaching Dillon following his contact with Logano, saying:
“Run him down. Wreck him! Come on. Come on. Come on. Get up. Come on. F*** yeah!”
Dillon and others among the RCR brass did their best to turn the attention off those transmissions in their post-race press conference, but ultimately NASCAR did not agree.
”Dude, at that point I’m elbows up, holding the throttle down, just trying to get to the start/finish line literally,” Dillon said of his point of view…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at NASCAR – Motorsports Tribune…