Austin Dillon doesn’t currently have the playoff spot he thought he’d earned with the aggressive moves that crashed Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin to secure him a win at Richmond Raceway. But the 2018 Daytona 500 winner has no regrets and a simple message to his detractors.
“You don’t hate the player,” he told NBC Sports during an interview after Saturday’s Cup Series qualifying was rained out. “You hate the game.”
In this case, the ‘game’ is NASCAR’s win-and-in playoff system – a unique championship format where a single victory at any stage of the regular season can lock a driver into one of the 16 playoff spots to chase the title over the final 10 races.
Entering Richmond 32nd in the points with four races left before the playoffs, Dillon was desperate to lock himself into the postseason field with a win. He appeared poised to do just that, but a late caution and slow restart opened the door for Logano to snag the top spot from Dillon in overtime. So over the final half-lap of action, Dillon did whatever it took to secure a win – sending Logano spinning from behind with a deep dive into Turn 3 and catching the right-rear of Hamlin’s No. 11 when he tried to take advantage and pass them both off Turn 4.
It was enough to get Dillon the win. NASCAR didn’t disqualify him from the victory, but did deem the move over the line and stripped Dillon and his No. 3 team of the playoff perks and giving them 25-point penalties in the drivers’ and owners’ championships. Spotter Brandon Benesch was also suspended three races for telling Dillon to wreck Hamlin coming to the line.
Richard Childress Racing (RCR) is currently appealing the decision. In the meantime, Dillon has been tight-lipped. He hasn’t talked to Logano or Hamlin and is saving his emotions and plans for the appeal.
“I’ve got to be careful with what I give out right now for the appeal process, because it’s going to be like a trial, it really is,” Dillon said. “I wish everybody could see it, television, would be cool to be in there. Because I haven’t really given my entire story of the game yet.