One corner, three drivers and a checkered flag awaited at Richmond Raceway.
After looking well on his way to pulling one of the most shell-shocking upsets of the playoff era, Austin Dillon found himself in a desperate situation. He was three car lengths (four or five, if you agree with Joey Logano) behind Logano with just turns 3 and 4 separating himself and a deflating miss at a win.
What happened next led to an unprecedented amount of media exposure that immediately squabbled in the breathing room set by a two-week Olympic break from a season full of storylines.
Dillon threw his car down into turn 3, hitting Logano’s No. 22 and sending it around. Then, with a hard-charging Denny Hamlin coming by on the inside, Dillon turned left, causing Hamlin’s car to careen into the outside wall.
That left the start/finish line all to Dillon, handing him the trophy and a playoff berth.
You could feel the intensity and sudden gasp of air all at once by everyone. Did a driver who was 32nd in points just make the playoffs? Or, more fittingly, did he just wreck his way in?
The incident spurred a furious reaction from Logano, a calculated, yet frustrated one from Hamlin, and an influx of opinions on social media.
Three days later, the ground-shaking effects grew.
NASCAR officials announced on Wednesday (Aug. 14) that Dillon’s win would not count towards playoff eligibility and the No. 3 team was docked 25 playoff and owners points. Additionally, Dillon’s spotter, Brandon Benesch, was suspended for three races after audio caught him telling his driver to “wreck” Logano.
Fizzled out by the waves of the storm are the what-ifs of the race. Before the chaos that would ultimately keep Dillon mired outside of the playoffs, his sails were set to capture a comfortable victory and win purely based on speed, something the 34-year-old had received criticism for not having in his previous four wins.
Had Ricky Stenhouse Jr. not have spun Ryan Preece with two laps to go, Dillon would be in the playoffs, and Bubba Wallace, Chris Buescher and Ross Chastain would have experienced more sleepless nights.
Instead of talking about the controversy of the finish, the continuing questions about the fairness of the playoff system and the officiating by NASCAR, we’d be talking about the success of the option tires, creating an intriguing race full of strategy and close battles.
However, the fact is that Dillon’s win is the star of…
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