Austin Dillon may have won the NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway last weekend, but that win won’t count toward the 2024 playoffs, NASCAR announced Aug. 14.
NASCAR’s decision comes after Dillon spun the cars of Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin coming out of the final turn to the checkered flag.
NASCAR officials cited section 12.3.2.1.b of its rule book: “Race finishes must be unencumbered by violation(s) of the NASCAR Rules or other action(s) detrimental to stock car auto racing or NASCAR as determined in the sole discretion of NASCAR.”
“I think in all due respect to the appeal process, we looked at this and the totality of everything that happened as you enter Turn 3 and as the cars got to the start/finish line,” Elton Sawyer, NASCAR svp of competition, said in a release announcing the penalty. “So, as we look through all of that data, we came to the conclusion that a line had been crossed. Our sport has been based going for many, many years, forever, on good, hard racing. Contact has been acceptable. We felt like, in this case, that the line was crossed.”
In addition to the loss of the win toward playoff contention, both Dillon and the No. 3 team were penalized 25 points for their respective season standings.
Logano, who was on the receiving end of one of Dillon’s bumps, was fined $50,000 after spinning his tires on pit road near the pit area of the No. 3 post-race.
Brandon Benesch, Dillon’s spotter, was the final person to receive a penalty; he was suspended three races for his comments on the radio on the final lap, instructing Dillon to “wreck [Logano].”
“If you look at at the crew chief and you look at the spotter, and view them as calming voices in the driver’s ear, in this case, we just felt like we’ve all listened to the audio,” Sawyer said. “We know exactly what was said. We just felt like that that’s not what we need spotters doing. That’s not what we need (from a) crew chief sitting on the box. They’re a calming voice to what the situation is in front of them, and they’re supposed to be spotting for the race, not making comments like were made, as we all know.”
Dillon now sits 31st in points and will need both another victory to make the playoffs.
Richard Childress Racing said it plans to appeal the decision.
Kevin Rutherford is the executive editor of Frontstretch, a position he gained in 2025 after being the managing editor since 2015, and serving on the editing staff since 2013.
At his day job, he's a journalist covering music and rock charts at Billboard. He lives in New York City, but his heart is in Ohio -- you know, like that Hawthorne Heights song.
What a joke. NASCAR has lost a fan. I will never watch or attend another event.
Now knowing a precedent has been set NASCAR is going to
have to follow it since if they go back to pre Richmond offficiating
it will make them no better then hypocrites known as select penalites
maximus which it has long been.
Oh Richard will appeal. In the end I hope he squeeles like a pig as it’s let stand.
A fair decision by my standards. Bumping cars out of the grove on the last turn of the last lap is acceptable to me and most drivers but intentionally wrecking someone is over the top
What did Ironhead do to Labonte? Compare that to what Jeremy did to Ironhead at Pocono!
Good call Elton ! Now Dillon can pay Joey’s fine and thank god he is not in the playoffs so RCR is not embarrassed further by a detrimental driver. * by the win ?
How much more embarrassed can a laughing stock be !!! It began when pop pop put him in the 3
Further proof that NASCAR is the worst run professional sport in the world.
Those of you cheering this on, need to remember that it could be your favorite driver next. Funny to me that NASCAR didn’t have the guts to take it away Saturday night, instead they need 72 hours to come up with this mess? Lil’ Joey should have had points taken from him for the pit road nonsense. What will it take? a crew member or VIP getting mowed down for NASCAR to take that seriously?
I think joey actually got the worse end of the whole deal. He got wrecked in a race he was clearly going to win and got fined 50k.
If my favorite driver (Kes) did what Dillon did, he wouldn’t be my favorite driver anymore.
Good. Not a Hamlin fan, but that’s beside the point, and he’s right… Dillon needed to have his ticket to the playoffs rescinded. NASCAR got it right this time; now they just need to be consistent going forward.
Oh well, Dillon went from maybe a 1% chance of winning this year’s championship back down to 0%. Although it will cost the team some money and the prestige of being one of the 16 playoff contenders. I think nascar just said “hold my watch.”