Which JRM Prospect Will Have the Better Career?

Was the penalty issued to Austin Dillon appropriate?

Mike Neff: Due to the fact he made the statement that the contact with Denny Hamlin was a reaction, yes, it is appropriate. The contact with Joey Logano is how people race now, so there was nothing wrong then. Based on the overhead shot, it looked like Dillon was turning away from Hamlin when the contact occurred. Had he not said the contact was a reaction, he would have had an argument. 

James Krause: No, but not in the sense that it was too harsh or not harsh enough. In a broader sense, NASCAR tied its own hands for the future with its handling of Richmond Raceway’s finish. It didn’t strip Dillon of the win outright. So it’s fine, right? Well, no, because NASCAR said it can’t count toward the playoffs. So the playoff format that’s made NASCAR what it is (for better or worse) went from “winning is everything” to “winning is everything unless you winning means doing whatever Austin Dillon just did” in one weekend. By fence-sitting on what to do about last week’s finish, the league has outright undermined its own playoff system. The win should have stood or been stripped entirely, no in-between.

Amy Henderson: Almost, but not quite. NASCAR should have taken the win, because while the playoff implications hurt Dillon, drivers who don’t make the playoffs or who get eliminated have nothing to race for during those 10 races except wins. If they keep the trophy, why not go bowling for racecars? For Dillon, the penalty was warranted. If he’d at least made an attempt to move Logano and then resorted to a shove up the racetrack? That’s totally acceptable. Going after him with the sole intent of wrecking him, not so much, and hooking Hamlin was over the top. A right-rear hook is never an acceptable move. Period.

Samuel Stubbs: Yes. NASCAR managed to take away nearly all of the benefits of winning a race without taking the (mostly deserved) win away. 

Phil Allaway: He should have disqualified at minimum and suspended at worst. NASCAR has the reputation on the world stage of a sanctioning body that either cannot or doesn’t want to properly officiate its own races. It looks downright sad at times. I would have put my foot down and told Dillon that he needed to take a(nother) vacation. There’s nothing wrong with contact, but you can’t intentionally wreck two different drivers to win a race.

Dillon’s spotter can be heard saying “wreck him” at…