The Dillon Appeal Saga – Worthwhile Effort or Needless Distraction?

You know we’re in topsy-turvy world when Austin Dillon is dominating the headlines for two weeks in a row.

While he didn’t win or wreck anyone at Michigan International Speedway this week, he did have his initial appeal to have his win at Richmond Raceway still count for playoff eligibility, which was denied on Wednesday (Aug. 21).

Richard Childress Racing intends to continue to pursue their effort, however, with the Final Appeal Officer. With just two races remaining in the regular season and both Dillon and Kyle Busch needing wins to get in, is this the best use of their resources? This week, Brad Harrison and Luken Glover weigh the risk versus reward in 2-Headed Monster.

The Juice is not Worth the Squeeze

With only two races remaining in the regular season and no real indication that NASCAR will overturn RCR’s appeal, it’s time to go all-in and direct all focus to either winning at least one of the next two races to get into the playoffs or one of the final 10 regular-season races, whether the Childress cars are in the postseason or not.

In RCR’s defense, having Dillon pulled from the playoffs would cost them millions of dollars and prevent them from making a playoff push, let alone negatively impacting the overall financial health of the organization.  

However, the problem is that the races have been few and far between in which RCR has shown it can be relevant in the playoffs. Richmond was the only race where Dillon had the speed to win, and Kyle Busch’s pace hadn’t been on par in months entering Michigan. If NASCAR overturned the appeal and Dillon was eliminated in the first round, that would do nothing to silence the critics. 

What RCR can focus on is building off the speed they have shown in the two races since the Olympic break. Dillon was undoubtedly the best car at the end of the Richmond race, and Busch was a legitimate contender for the win at Michigan. Looking at the two tracks ahead in the form of Daytona International Speedway and Darlington Raceway, there are reasons for the team to be optimistic.

Busch has been strong at drafting tracks since moving over to RCR. He was in the hunt to win the Daytona 500 both last season and this year, and he finished seventh in the summer race a year ago. One of his three wins in the No. 8 also came at a drafting track, as he won at Talladega Superspeedway in 2023. 

Darlington has been a different story for the 39-year-old, who has finished outside…