Should Austin Dillon Have Been Stripped of His Win?

1. Was allowing Austin Dillon to keep his win the correct decision?

Earlier this week, I wrote that NASCAR was at a crossroads and that it would have to decide whether or not it wanted to open a Pandora’s box of aggressive and dirty driving or draw a line on things a driver can’t do to win a race.

NASCAR elected to pursue the latter Aug. 14, as it determined that the line of racing etiquette — no matter how vague it may be — was crossed by Austin Dillon and the No. 3 team last weekend at Richmond Raceway in the NASCAR Cup Series. NASCAR allowed the win to stand, but the sanctioning body docked Dillon and the No. 3 team 25 points and stripped them of their playoff eligibility in both the driver’s and owner’s championships.

Dillon essentially scored an encumbered win — a win without any of the playoff benefits — which was last seen in the 2017 and 2018 seasons when a winning car failed post-race inspection.

But NASCAR starting disqualifying cars that failed post-race inspection in 2019, and Denny Hamlin was the first Cup driver to be stripped of the win at Pocono Raceway in 2022. Given that disqualifications aren’t unprecedented in NASCAR, should it have gone the extra step in taking Dillon’s win away, especially since it felt he had crossed the line?

In this particular instance, no. While I wouldn’t be opposed to anyone that wanted to do so, stripping Dillon of the win would have the unintended consequence of generating controversy over the rightful winner.

Should the win be awarded to Joey Logano, given that he had the race won until Dillon pulled his stunts? Or should it be given to Hamlin, who was going to win after Logano’s spin and was scored second in the official finishing order? Or, to not pick a side between the two, how about Tyler Reddick, who would’ve finished second had the final moments of the race ended under green-flag conditions?

One could make a solid case for any of the three, so NASCAR allowing the win to stand for the car that crossed first was the correct decision.

2. What is Kaulig Racing’s long-term plan?

Kaulig Racing revealed Aug. 15 that AJ Allmendinger will be back full time in the Cup Series in 2025.