Due to his aggressive tactics that secured his victory at Richmond Raceway by crashing Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano, Austin Dillon does not currently have the playoff berth he thought he had earned. However, the Daytona 500 winner from 2018 has no regrets and a straightforward message for his critics.
He said in an interview with NBC Sports, following the cancellation of Saturday’s Cup Series qualification, “You don’t hate the player.” “You detest the game,”
In this instance, the “game” is the win-and-in playoff system used by NASCAR, a distinctive championship structure that allows a driver to secure one of the 16 playoff slots and pursue the championship throughout the course of the last ten races with a single victory at any point during the regular season.
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Allgaier easily wins in Michigan as rivals battle behind Dillon’s penalty, which has no effect on drivers’ playoff-bubble strategy.
With four races remaining until the playoffs and entering Richmond 32nd in the standings, Dillon was desperate to secure a spot in the postseason field with a victory. He looked ready to achieve just that, but Logano was able to overtake Dillon for the lead in overtime due to a tardy caution and a sluggish restart. In order to win, Dillon went above and beyond during the last half-lap of racing. He caught Hamlin’s No. 11’s right rear when he attempted to overtake them both exiting Turn 4 and sent Logano spinning from behind with a long dive into Turn 3.
It was plenty for Dillon to win. Although Dillon and his No. 3 team were not disqualified from the race, NASCAR ruled that the move crossed the line and fined them 25 points in the drivers’ and owners’ championships. Also, spotter Brandon Benesch received a three-race suspension for instructing Dillon to wreck Hamlin as he approached the finish line.
Currently, Richard Childress Racing (RCR) is contesting the ruling. Dillon has been silent during this period. He is holding back on his feelings and preparations for the appeal; he hasn’t spoken to Logano or Hamlin.
“I have to exercise caution in what information I provide at this time regarding the appeals process, as it will resemble a trial in every way,” Dillon stated. It would be awesome to be inside the television, and I hope everyone could see it. as I haven’t actually shared the game’s whole narrative with you yet.
“I think Denny did a great job this week aggressively presenting his side of the story on his show. A few more podcasts than he usually listens to. I also listened to his podcast when he discussed how difficult the appeals process is for us.
“I’m going to try my hardest to get RCR where they should be right now—in the playoffs, where they belong.” After everything is all said, done, and done with, I will then express my exact feelings to the media and everyone else.
Although Dillon is keeping his plans under wraps, he did take a moment during the interview to speak with Logano. After being spun at Richmond, the two-time Cup champion lost it. He then went on an aggressive burnout down pit road, which cost him $50,000 in fines from NASCAR, and made controversial remarks about Dillon in interviews following the race.
Dillon claimed that nothing in Michigan was personal.
Dillon apologized for the predicament he was in. “I was going to give it everything I had to get my team to victory lane, regardless of whether it was Joey or anybody else. You are aware that during the incident on pit road following the race, he said many unguarded remarks regarding my family and my faith in Christ. I do, however, forgive him for me.
Above all, Dillon said as he was driving home that he has no regrets, a lesson he learned from the two drivers in Virginia that he disregarded.
Over the years, Joey and Denny have taught me a lot, he remarked. “They don’t look back on their actions on the racetrack. Neither can I. It’s not how I feel at all. I feel happy about all I did for myself and my team, so I won’t say there is anything I regret.
Some evenings, after going to bed, I’ve been up until three or four in the morning, wondering what I could have done better. I don’t know what I could have done in this circumstance.
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