Denny Hamlin claims he doesn’t hold any ill will toward fellow NASCAR Cup rival Austin Dillon for how last summer’s race at Richmond Raceway played out.
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But there’s a big difference between not holding any ill will and still holding a grudge, and Hamlin is guilty of that: he hasn’t spoken to Dillon since that fateful day last year at the 3/4-mile bullring.
Hamlin dominated the race, leading a race-high 124 laps (Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell led the second-most number of laps with 122). Hamlin was homing in on the double overtime win when Dillon took the lead on the final lap and then was crowned the winner when the race finished under caution.
Hamlin, who considers Richmond Raceway his home track, felt he was deprived of a sixth career win there by Dillon in last summer’s race.
Here’s How Things Transpired in Last Year’s Race
The field was coming to the white flag lap, with Joey Logano in the lead ahead of Dillon. As the pair went into Turn 3 on the final circuit, Dillon punted Logano into the wall. But that wasn’t all.
After taking care of Logano, he also punted Hamlin into the wall just a couple of hundred feet from the finish line, bringing out the caution and assuring Dillon would take home the win.
“I don’t have anything negative to say about this with Austin,” Hamlin elaborated to the press on Friday about not being on speaking terms with Dillon, grandson of NASCAR Cup team owner Richard Childress.
“I really don’t have anything negative to say about his character. I really stuck up for him quite a bit earlier in this year, when he was going through some pretty tough finishes and things like that, and talking about how I really respected his character, and I still do.
“He just was put in a really tough spot, where you have to make a split-second decision, and he made one that was not in the, in my opinion, best interest of the sport. People make mistakes, and I believe everyone deserves second chances.”
Dillon Kept the Win, But Lost His Playoff Bid
In most instances, the win would qualify Dillon for the NASCAR Cup playoffs. However, NASCAR officials announced three days after the race that while they would let the win stand with Dillon, his winning tactics were against the rules, calling the contact with both Logano and Hamlin intentional, and his win would not allow him free passage into the playoffs.
As it turned out, Dillon finished the season a career-low 32nd in the Cup standings. The RCR regular faces an almost identical situation heading into Saturday night’s race at Richmond this season.
He’s currently 28th in the Cup standings. The only way he can make the playoffs is to win Saturday or next Sunday’s regular-season finale at Daytona. And if it comes down to a last-lap battle again, Hamlin will be ready.
“I think NASCAR drew a line in the sand and said that was too far,” Hamlin said about last year’s incident. “I think that they have been better about drawing the line in the sand on certain things, like the right rear hooks we have seen over the last year.
“They are not afraid to make hard decisions, and I think that is very, very important with the governing of the sport in general, so it is not a circus. I do feel a little bit better about it than we did 12 months ago; I just feel that I think certainly, that was the first time we’ve seen something like that happen, and then NASCAR had a precedent to set in the sense that—what do you from here?
“If you let that go, then you open up a floodgate of crazy things that could happen that would be bad for the relevance and the legitimacy of the sport. So I think everyone probably has a little better understanding now, because of the ruling. I’m not saying I agree or disagree with it, but you certainly have a better understanding,” he rounded off.
