Bob Pockrass
FOX NASCAR Insider
RICHMOND, Va. — Austin Dillon controversially clinched a spot in the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs on Sunday by crashing both Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin on the final lap at Richmond Raceway.
Dillon had a comfortable lead when the caution came out with two laps to go, setting up a two-lap dash to the finish. Logano started next to Dillon and took the lead on the restart.
Going into the final two corners, Dillon got behind Logano, who spun, then Hamlin slipped up the inside of Dillon, causing Dillon to run down the track and make contact with Hamlin’s right rear.
Wild Finish! Austin Dillon Takes Checkered Flag in Overtime at Cookout 400
Dillon entered the race ranked 32nd in the points standings after a miserable year, and he has now qualified for the 16-driver playoffs.
“If I win, I’ll move on to the next round,” Dillon said. “I did what I had to do to be the first to cross the start-finish line. A lot of people lose their jobs because they weren’t the first to cross the start-finish line.”
Hamlin felt that wasn’t enough of a justification for officials to issue a no-call for what he felt was overly aggressive driving.
“We’ll never be taken seriously as a sport because we don’t have real referees,” Hamlin said.
Hamlin spoke with NASCAR officials after the race but beforehand, he said the nature of NASCAR’s win-to-playoff system creates moments and decisions that force drivers to do things that shouldn’t be tolerated.
“This is what we’ve been preparing for to get to this point,” Hamlin said. “We’ve been preparing for eliminations, playoffs, knockouts and one race for the championship. We’re trying to create these moments, but when they happen and we make a fool of ourselves like we did tonight, it’s a tarnish on the sports world.”
“But perhaps [NASCAR headquarters in] Daytona loves this stuff and they are what is holding the sport back.”
Logano? He’s not happy either.
“He sucks,” Logano said. “He sucks. He’s sucked his whole career. And now he’s in the playoffs. I think that’s good for him.”
Joey Logano is upset that Austin Dillon won the Cookout 400 in overtime.
Post-race recap: Hamlin finished second, followed by Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace and Ross Chastain.
NASCAR review
NASCAR plans to review the final lap, including a call from Dillon’s spotter over the radio to “run him over, run him over,” a command Dillon said he did not hear.
“The final lap was awful, right at the finish line,” NASCAR senior vice president of competition Elton Sawyer said. “We’re going to look at every resource available to us, from audio to video. We’re going to listen to the spotters, the crew chiefs, the drivers.”
“If something gets to a level where we need to impose penalties, we will do that on Tuesday.”
NASCAR traditionally doesn’t vacate wins for several days after the race has concluded.
“Historically, taking from people of color is not in our DNA, but that doesn’t mean that this won’t be a precedent going forward,” Sawyer said. “We need to look at it.”
Elton Sawyer discusses possible Austin Dillon punishment
Dillon’s View
Dillon said he intended to make a move on Logano but then Hamlin got underneath him so he just reacted.
“I just tried to get around him,” Dillon said of Logano, “in fifth gear going into turn three, I got in there, tried to let him go and get him on the track. I downshifted the car and as I did the car actually turned pretty good.”
“When I came back to the left, 11 [of Hamlin] I knew it was coming. It was just a reaction. … I wasn’t lifting at that point because I was paying more attention to where the 22 was. When the 11 came it was just a reaction.”
With the win, Dillon ended a 68-race winless streak. As the driver of the No. 3 car made famous by Dale Earnhardt, Dillon’s performance is always in the spotlight due to the fact that he drives that number and his grandfather is team owner Richard Childress.
NASCAR Cup Series: Cookout 400 Highlights
“If he was leading it, that [of Loagno] It would have knocked him off the road,” Childress said. [of Hamlin] Would have moved him off the road.
“It would have been the same either way. I’ve seen it before.”
Logano, Hamlin unhappy
Logano said he thought he could win the race because he had such a big advantage over Dillon.
“He just went in so hard, and obviously couldn’t turn,” Logano said. “He hit me and then the 11th. [of Hamlin] I was going to win the race. He didn’t have the will to race. I beat him fair and square on the restart and he just acted cowardly.”
“Where’s the line?” – Denny Hamlin questions NASCAR officiating after Cookout 400
Hamlin thought he would finish third, but said, “Third place is [of Dillon] I was going to do something stupid.”
“I don’t blame him, because he’s totally desperate,” Hamlin said. “He’s 30th in points. He’s moved up 20 places in points. … His season has been saved.”
“He’ll have to pay for this in the future, but from his perspective, it’s so worth it, because there are no guardrails or rules that say, ‘Don’t do that.'”
Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR for FOX Sports. He has decades of experience covering motorsports, including more than 30 Daytona 500 races for ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine, the Daytona Beach News Journal and more. Follow him on Twitter @Bob Cocks Glass.
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