Dale Earnhardt Jr Reached Out to Austin Dillon After Being Called Out Mid-Race by the Richard Childress Racing Driver

While Denny Hamlin stole the spotlight for his last lap Turn 1 tango with Kyle Larson at Pocono, Richard Childress’ grandson wasn’t far behind. During lap 106 of the 2023 HighPoint.com 400 Cup Series race, Austin Dillon went three-wide with Tyler Reddick and Brad Keselowski. Aiming for the apex in Turn 1, Dillon’s #3 Chevy made contact with Reddick’s #45 Toyota, causing him to crash into the outer wall. In an interview after his crash, Austin Dillon even called out NBC commentator Dale Earnhardt Jr for blaming him for the crash.

The wreck left the #3 car completely mangled, ending race day early for Dillon. Infuriated at Tyler Reddick for causing the wreck, Austin Dillon threw his helmet on the track toward the #45 Toyota. But Dillon didn’t stop there.

Dale Jr clarifies his stance on calling out Austin Dillon

With Austin Dillon wrecking out, Dale Earnhardt Jr commented on how the #3 Chevy drove toward the inside line, causing contact with Reddick’s car. Unhappy with Dale Jr’s comments, Dillon in the mid-race interview called out the NBC color commentator, saying, “I hear Junior’s replay, said that I came down a little bit…I mean I have got to turn at some point to get down.”

In a recent episode of the Dale Jr Download podcast, Junior revealed what made him call out his friend on the live telecast. “The Austin Dillon- Reddick, that was hilarious. I texted him this morning a little bit just to make sure we’re still pals…I don’t know if he even saw my point of view, but he might have been told by somebody in his camp that Dale put the blame on you”, Dale Jr said.

He further added, “Look, in that moment, I’m watching that wreck, the #45, it was a low percentage pass. He’s on the bottom of the three wide going into Turn 1, low percentage. Probably not optimal vision on his part. The #6 is at the very top. In the moment when I saw the replay, its still etched in my mind that the only car really moving is the #3, and he’s coming down the racetrack. I don’t think even the #6 was turning in just yet. The #45 certainly didn’t do any favors. The #45 went straight.

Iterating how he was only carrying out his commentator duties, Junior said, “But, you know, I had to say what I thought in that moment, and you don’t love when a driver does an interview mid-race and calls your name out, a broadcaster. You’re like, ‘Hey man, I’m just up here doing my job. If I don’t call that, they will get somebody in there that will. I will not be in the booth too long. If I can’t call it one way or another, even if I’m wrong or right, doesn’t really matter.”

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Having feared that his friendship with Austin Dillon was in tatters, Dale Jr then went on to reveal how the old friends patched things up after the Pocono event.

What did Dale Earnhardt Jr and Austin Dillon talk about?

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These words from Dale Earnhardt Jr piqued the interest of podcast co-host Mike Davis, who then asked what the old pals talked about. Junior said that they did not discuss much about the race or the replay, and Dillon talked about the incidents that he had prior knowledge of. “He sees the wreck where he feels like the #45 put him in a bad spot, you know, #45 should have never tried to make the pass. So, I can understand his argument,” Dale Jr revealed.

“We talked about a lot of things outside the crash. Basically, it came down to, hey, he’s gonna race, and he’s got his opinions about what went down and how he wants to move forward”, Junior further added. 

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While Austin Dillon remains vexed at Tyler Reddick for the Pocono debacle, it’s good to know he has at least patched up his friendship with Dale Jr.