Austin Dillon’s controversial victory at Richmond Raceway has been a hot topic that is being debated by the NASCAR community. Dillon threw the caution out of the wind and took out Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin to secure a late-race win. His first in almost two years, ensuring his advance into the knockout stages of the competition.

But his desperate moves have been called into question by experts and fellow drivers. There were demands for a strict penalty, along with the idea of stripping him of his win. Now, there’s no definitive answer to how NASCAR is going to deal with this situation. One of the key talking points was Dillon’s action on the track as a result of his spotter’s instructions, which read “Wreck him” in the final moments of the race.

Dillon is well aware of the fact that NASCAR will dish out a verdict that could see him suspended. But in a bid to avoid any further disciplinary action, he’s now come out clean on his spotter Brandon Benesch’s egregious call on the radio to wreck his opponents.

Austin Dillon was going to resort to last-lap carnage with or without his spotter’s intervention

No one expected Dillon and the No. 3 RCR to compete for the win at Richmond. Had it not been for the late-race caution sparked by Ricky Stenhouse Jr., everyone would have been raving about the team’s performance. Restarts are not Dillon’s strong suit, and it came to bite him as Joey Logano took the lead. Now, the driver was well aware of how a win could overturn his season’s misfortunes, and therefore he went all guns blazing on the final lap.

As far as the radio communication is concerned, Dillon clarified that he knew the drill on what his next move was going to be. And his spotter’s radio chatter was nothing but an emotional outburst, which could have been avoided. “From my spotter, I feel like he became a fan in the stands on the last lap of Austin Dillon and RCR. He was just saying what came to his mind in the moment, and it was wrong, and I’m sure if there’s going to be something from that,” the RCR driver said while speaking on Dale Jr. Download.

However, no matter the consequences, he is going to have his spotter’s back. “What he was saying didn’t change what happened in turns 3 and 4. I’m driving at that point for all its worth, and he’s just keying the mic talking. I know he’s bummed about that, but he’s had my back through a lot of rough patches that we’ve had over RCR, and I can’t fault him for being a fan in that moment.” Dillon went on to add.

Interestingly, having dumped Denny Hamlin for the win last Sunday, Austin Dillon will have to face him once again this week. And no, it’s not a racing contest, but a basketball duel, and it’s going to be interesting to see if this rivalry continues.

There’s no bad blood between Dillon and Hamlin

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More often than not, there is retaliation and payback for the moves that Austin Dillon pulled off last Sunday. However, for the fans to witness that duel or spicy moment, they have to wait a whole long weekend until the Cup racing action resumes. But both Hamlin and Dillon face off against each other in the Hoop Group basketball tournament this Thursday, which makes for an interesting encounter as the two adversaries face each other after the carnage that ensued at Richmond.

“We’ll handle it on the court,” Hamlin said via his podcast show, Actions Detrimental. Meanwhile, the RCR driver is looking to broker a peace deal. “I haven’t talked to Denny yet. I feel like Denny’s very honest and open about a lot of things. In this situation, he’s in a more torn place than he’s ever been because one of his cars is now on the bubble in the playoffs, right? I thought his first reaction was fair. I mean, he knew what I was trying to do to win the race.”

Hamlin did clear the air, stating that he can separate on-track and off-track conduct and that there wasn’t going to be any bad blood between him and Dillon during the game. But, given how animated Joey Logano was after the race, it’s hard to say if he is going to let this one slide.