July 21, 2024; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Austin Dillon (3) waves to the crowd before the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Mandatory credit: Mike Dinovo-USA TODAY Sports Austin Dillon can still wake up and look at the trophy he earned from the Cook Out 400, but that was the only positive he got from Sunday’s race.
On Wednesday, NASCAR announced that Dillon’s victory at Richmond Raceway will not count as qualifying for the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, moving the No. playoff spot.
With Michigan, Daytona and Darlington remaining on the regular season schedule, Dillon still has three chances to earn a playoff spot again. Daytona is easily the most likely place for Dillon to come out on top again, but if he can’t get back to the postseason, his lament over the end of Richmond’s run will be huge.
NASCAR’s decision to make Dillon’s victory not count as playoff qualifying may be one of the most significant decisions made by the sanctioning body since it introduced the knockout-style format in 2014.
Drivers have been desperate in the playoffs before – see Ryan Newman’s move on Kyle Larson at Phoenix in 2014, or Kevin Harvick’s intentional crash at Talladega in 2015 – but Dillon’s move on Sunday surpassed all that had happened before. severity.
Not only did Dillon not try to make a corner before playing Joey Logano in turn three, but also refused and hooked Denny Hamlin to come to the line in a move of desperation that is the only difference between making and losing the playoffs can be spurred.
NASCAR has always flirted with the idea of ​​”guys have it” in an attempt to both appeal to old-school fans while also loosely establishing the line of what constitutes a penalty for overaggressive moves. Since the beginning of auto racing — and in fact, every competition — competitors have always sought an advantage, whether they were fair or unfair.
Dillon hitting Logano and Hamlin on purpose was not the same trivial event as Smokey Yunick or Junior Johnson trying to disrupt the fuel line. It’s not the same as the severity of a driver slightly jumping back or pointing a competitor up the track.
Dillon not only took the physicality and aggression of NASCAR to the extreme, but abused the unwritten rules and undrawn lines that do not exist, simply because NASCAR likely does not think the driver will ever be in a desperate situation to guarantee. hooking competitors to the wall to win the race.
Of course, NASCAR can not be considered an innocent victim: It is the circuit itself “win-and-in” style elimination format that forces the hand of Dillon, who is sitting on 32 in points entering Sunday’s race. Along with the chance to compete for the championship, the playoff spot guarantees the team a bonus payment in the neighborhood of $2 million, which is a windfall in a sport that is more dependent on sponsors than others.
Had NASCAR chosen to stick with the original Chase format or never adopt a playoff format, Dillon would have had no incentive to drive as hard as he did in the final laps.
However, regardless of the points format he plays in, Dillon, who is in his 11th full-time Cup Series season, should know that intentionally damaging an opponent is never a good idea, even in tense situations. They may wake up to a trophy every morning, but what good is it if that trophy comes without a playoff spot and at the team’s expense?
Along with Dillon’s spot in the postseason being revoked, Dillon lost 25 points and spotter Brandon Benesch for the next three Cup Series races. Benesch’s suspension was the result of Benesch yelling for Dillon to foul Hamlin as both raced out of turn four, and with radio evidence, NASCAR had no choice but to take further action.
In this case, NASCAR set the right precedent. With every 36 Cup Series race affecting the playoffs, there’s no room for a move similar to the one Dillon pulled in Richmond. In the era of NASCAR where aggression is at an all-time high and young drivers do not seem to respect the competition, the punishment is a rare iron fist in Bill France-less era of leadership of the sport.
NASCAR should not be stock-car racing similar to Formula 1’s officiating body, where any instance of contact causes a rebuke, but the line drawn between “guys have it” and overaggressive driving is a must.
Richard Childress Racing will, of course, appeal Dillon’s punishment before the playoffs start on September 8, but the organization will fight a losing battle.
For today, at least, NASCAR can pat itself on the back.
–Samuel Stubbs, Field Level Media
