I once heard someone say, “That’s short-track racing.”
When Austin Dillon intentionally hooked Denny Hamlin to stop the #11 from taking the win in the NASCAR Cup race at Richmond, did he go too far in his desperation to win? Dillon intentionally bumped and ran against leading Joey Logano on the last corner.
Dillon’s Third Despite starting the race just 32nd in points, the Richard Childress machine had shown remarkable speed at the Richmond short track and was very much in the running for the victory.
Given his circumstances, Dillon had nothing to lose when the race proceeded into overtime, with Penske’s Logano receiving the advantage on the restart because of the “win and you’re in” nature of the playoffs.
The next time, Dillon gave the two-time champion the famous “bump and run” maneuver, letting go of Logano into the barrier with the #22 Penske acting as his brakes.
Then, encouraged by his spotter, Dillon hooked Hamlin into the wall on the right-rear, a move that has resulted in race bans for other drivers in the past, including as Chase Elliott and Bubba Wallace in previous years.
An enraged Logano called Dillon’s decision “chickenshit” and scolded him, adding he has failed throughout his career. An equally incensed Hamlin adopted a more tactful stance, stating NASCAR should make the final decision.
What do you think of the much criticized move? NASCAR seems to be happy with it, though.
After watching the video below, please don’t forget to cast your vote in the poll to let us know what you think!
Leave a Reply