Austin Dillon Penalty Explained: Why Was the RCR Driver Penalized by NASCAR?

In a historical decision of officiating, NASCAR announced on Wednesday that it would be revoking Austin Dillon’s playoff berth for the victory in Richmond. The Richard Childress Racing star was under fire for wrecking Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin on his way to the finish line and the promotion has deemed that his actions have reduced the integrity of the sport and the playoffs.

Elton Sawyer, the Senior VP of Competition, appeared in front of the media to deliver the verdict and explained the exact reasons for the penalty. He said, “We want them to be able to race hard, that’s what our sport has been about for 75 plus years — but we also want them to understand, and I believe that each and every one of them understands, that this crossed the line.”

Sawyer hadn’t been able to go to the extreme level of stripping the win simply because the rule book wouldn’t allow him to do so. “As we look through the rule book, there’s not, at the moment, really a mechanism in the rule book that gives us that option,” he added. But Dillon has been docked 25 points and his spotter, Brandon Benesch, has been suspended for three races.

The decision was made after a thorough study of his throttle, steering, and brake data to understand if the aggressiveness was with intent. Benesch’s instruction of “Wreck him! Wreck him!” also would have helped the case. Richard Childress Racing will be appealing the penalty and any further decision from the appeals panel will be delivered before the regular season finale at Darlington on September 1.

“They know where the line is!”

Talking to reporter Matt Weaver, Sawyer further reiterated that every driver on the field knew where the line of ethical racing was in NASCAR just as he did back when he was a racer. He made 392 starts in the Xfinity Series in the 1990s. “I promise you. As a race car driver, they know where the line is,” he said. This knowledge is what disappoints him the most about the way Dillon secured his victory.

He chose his words carefully and stayed away from commenting on the particular moves in the final lap with the upcoming appeal in his mind. But he did answer why Dillon wasn’t penalized in the same way that Chase Elliott or Bubba Wallace was when they right-hooked a competitor. The reason comes down to the situation and the fact that Richmond isn’t the type of track that intermediates are.

“Each situation is different,” he stated. “When we looked at his and the totality, as I said earlier, we felt like the penalty that we have issued on the No. 3 and the No.3’s owner takes away the eligibility of using that win.” Logano was fined $50,000 for burning his tires in front of Dillon’s pit stall after the race. However, the Team Penske star will not be contesting that decision.