NASCAR has come under intense scrutiny lately. From being criticized for delaying their verdict after the Richmond Raceway controversy to Richard Childress Racing questioning their judgment with multiple appeals, the condemnation has been abundant. And there is still more to come! Dale Earnhardt Jr is the latest to call out the sanctioning body for being hypocritical in dealing with Austin Dillon.

The 32-year-old was stripped of playoff eligibility and docked 25 points after wrecking Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin on his way to his maiden victory at Federated Auto Parts 400. Speaking on the Dale Jr Download podcast, the former driver has now questioned NASCAR’s inconsistency in handing out penalties, claiming that there is a threshold that on-track incidents must cross, after which the organization decides to finally take a stand.

Dale Earnhardt Jr highlights NASCAR’s double standards

Austin Dillon wrecked not one, but two cars on his way to Victory Lane at Michigan. After a caution was introduced following an incident involving Ricky Stenhouse Jr and Ryan Preece, Joey Logano took the lead while heading into Turns 3 and 4 in the final lap of the race. Dillon, who had a comfortable advantage before the overtime restart attempted to win back his position, which resulted in contact with the Logano’s No. 22 Ford Mustang, who went crashing into the wall. Denny Hamlin tried to capitalize on the opportunity as well, only to be hooked by Austin Dillon, forcing his No. 11 Toyota into a spin.

In a conversation about Austin Dillon’s incident during the final lap of the Federated Auto Parts 400, Dale Jr shared his views on NASCAR’s hypocritical approach when handing out penalties. Speaking on the Dale Jr podcast, the 49-year-old said, “I’m going to tell you, if you want to spin one car out, that’s perfectly fine. That’s never been a problem. I think it’s when you do two. It’s when you go for the two-fer. You can’t wreck two, you can wreck one.”

NASCAR has recently announced that its preseason Clash event is being moved from the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which has held the exhibition race since 2022, to the Bowman Gray Stadium in North Carolina. Predicting how things might play out at the iconic venue, Dale Jr went on to say, “You know what’s going to happen? And this has also been a little bit annoying but amusing at the same time. Someone will get dumped at the clash at Bowman Gray. Someone will get moved and possibly spun out, and the winner will not get penalized for it.”

While the track has seen plenty of Cup Series action between 1958 and 1971, there won’t be any points handed out this time around. It will be interesting to see how that might affect the way NASCAR approaches on-track incidents, given that it won’t affect the upcoming season’s driver standings or playoff eligibility. Will the sanctioning body use Austin Dillon’s incidents as a precedent and hold others up to the same standard? Or would they approach such a situation on a case-by-case basis? Time will tell.

With the preseason Clash event being held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum since 2022, a shift to Bowman Gray will bring back memories for older NASCAR fans. Scheduled for 2nd February 2025, the hope will be that Mother Nature remains on her best behavior this time around so that there isn’t a repeat of the 2023 rain-plagued race, which resulted in a staggering 58.6% drop in viewership. As far as Austin Dillon and Richard Childress Racing are concerned, Dale Jr believes that their bitter-sweet victory at Richmond will only add to their many frustrations this season.

Dale Jr. believes Richard Childress Racing has been dealt with a tough hand

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After NASCAR took three days to reach their verdict, Richard Childress Racing promptly announced that they would be appealing for the sanctioning body’s judgment. The team’s dissatisfaction with the decision is understandable, as neither Kyle Busch nor Austin Dillon have qualified for the playoffs yet, and its repercussions can hurt the team financially. The National Motorsports Appeals Panel chose to uphold the initial verdict as far as Austin Dillon is concerned, even though spotter Brandon Benesch’s three-race suspension was reduced to just one.

Expressing sympathy for RCR’s circumstances, Dale Earnhardt Jr. went on to say, “It’s a tough deal for RCR. I don’t think you can take a lot of happiness in the fact that you get to keep the win. This will be a difficult thing for the team because, as Denny Hamlin noted in his podcast, it’s almost a $2 million swing from where Austin is in the points currently to where he might have eventually finished, had he had the chance to race it out in the playoffs. A lot of money on the line here or a lot of money that the RCR team would have benefited from had they made the playoffs…”

Despite Richard Childress Racing choosing to escalate the appeal to the Final Appeal Officer, it’s unlikely that the decision will be overturned. However, the team believes that they have nothing to lose and everything to gain if, by some luck, the verdict goes in their favor. With two races remaining at Daytona and Darlington before the regular season ends, it’s unlikely either Busch or Dillon will get into Victory Lane before playoffs begin at Atlanta. This means that if the RCR is going down, at least they’ll go down fighting for what they believe is right.

What are your thoughts about Dale Earnhardt Jr’s views? Let us know in the comments!