Austin Dillon has always been one of NASCAR’s most polarizing figures. He took over the legendary #3 Richard Childress car that Dale Earnhardt Sr. once rode and hasn’t done it nearly enough justice in 10 long years. His latest outing at Phoenix too, not surprisingly, ended with him at the absolute rear end in 32nd place. Despite the continuing showcase of mediocrity, Joe Gibbs Racing star Denny Hamlin has backed Dillon after Sunday’s race.
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Taking the mic on Actions Detrimental, Hamlin expressed his view that people unfairly hate Dillon just because he is the grandson of a team owner and that he is a “fantastic” human.
Hamlin said, “I love Austin. He is a good person. Austin gets a lot of sh*t because he’s racing for his grandfather. People think that he’s a silver spoon, this, that, and the other. Austin Dillon is a great person. He is a fantastic human and doesn’t deserve a lot of the flack that he gets. But man, he’s had a bad run at it the last year. Just an enormous amount of DNFs.”
Denny Hamlin continued to reason Dillon’s bad string of performances by stating that DNFs can’t be avoided much when drivers run mid-pack or at the rear. He vouched that the Richard Childress Racing driver had a very competitive spirit, and that he was maybe even more cutting-edge and athletic than himself.
Denny Hamlin believes Dillon’s Phoenix stumble is part of a bigger RCR problem
In Phoenix, Austin Dillon limped out of an early race crash and managed to salvage his day by finishing the race. Whilst his never-give-up attitude is certainly admirable, Hamlin continued to express on his podcast that Richard Childress Racing, as a team, struggled at the short track by citing Kyle Busch’s performance.
He said, “I saw it during practice. He [Busch] was just fighting that car big time. So it seems like the Chevys as a whole weren’t as strong (…). So they certainly have some stuff to figure out. Only one way to go for RCR after this weekend.” Busch finished his race in 22nd place. Notably, he had several pit crew members changed after pit crew mishaps in the race at Las Vegas.
So far this season, Richard Childress Racing is yet to garner a win, five races in. The team’s drivers will get to better their performances in the next Cup Series race at the Bristol Motor Speedway.
