Dale Earnhardt Jr. wants NASCAR to take a hard stance and stamp their authority over the drivers. The topic of discussion was the late race drama at Richmond Raceway. RCR driver Austin Dillon dumped two drivers, Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin, to get the all-important win at Richmond Raceway. Now, there is enough evidence for NASCAR to take strict action, one that sets a new precedent.

Even if NASCAR decides to penalize or suspend Dillon, it won’t matter to him, as he knows he did his job to secure a playoff spot. In fact, if he gets a one-race ban, he is likely to get a waiver from NASCAR for missing a points race. So you see, there’s a huge loophole in the way NASCAR conducts its officiating business, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. wants this to change. Even if it means to do away with the waiver process.

Dale Jr. was never a fan of the waiver

Every time NASCAR finds itself in a tough spot while making a decision call, they look to the rulings made by them in the past. The most recent incident of a driver deliberately crashing their opponent out of the race was last year. HMS star Chase Elliott was reprimanded by NASCAR for crashing Denny Hamlin intentionally during the Coca-Cola 600.

Well, this was them going by their rule book. Section 4.4.C states that “clearly forcing another competitor into the wall in an abrupt and unambiguous manner” could result in a penalty and race suspension. But they also handed Elliott the waiver; if he won any of the regular season races, he would be eligible for the playoffs.

Now, NASCAR recently handed a waiver to Kyle Larson for missing the start of the Coca-Cola 600, while attempting the double. But Dale Earnhardt Jr. doesn’t mind rewriting the rule book to avoid the scene that unfolded last Sunday at Richmond. “I told y’all I don’t; it feels like six twelve months ago, there shouldn’t be any waivers. I’m sorry, there should not be waivers for nothing.” Dale Jr. shared on the August 13 episode of the Dale Jr. Download.

Further noting the Richmond incident and emphasizing its importance for NASCAR, he said, “I think that it’s a very important moment for NASCAR. Yes, this is very important. They cannot deter this; that was too far, and I don’t want to see that again. Like Denny, I thought didn’t he hit way harder than he did? I was surprised to see him get out of the car; I thought he freakin pounded into the fence.” He went on to add.

Now it will be interesting to see what NASCAR decides to do with its ruling. They certainly have all the evidence, right from radio communications to the SMT data, to make a ruling. But will they set the precedent for not allowing a playoff run for Austin Dillon?

NASCAR will have to make a tough call

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We have seen NASCAR hand out hefty fines for minimal contact between the drivers. For context, Bubba Wallace was fined $50,000 for showing his displeasure to Alex Bowman by bumping his racecar into No. 48 during the cool-down laps at Chicago. In a similar incident, Daniel Suarez was fined the same amount for contacting Bowman on the pit road.

The shenanigans pulled off by Austin Dillon were egregious and put other drivers’ safety at risk. Going by the precedent, they’ve got to put the hammer down hard on the driver. But, given how they have kept their hands clean by not intervening in race-winning moments, docked points and a fine are the probable outcomes in terms of the ruling.

Usually, NASCAR announces potential penalties and fines on Tuesday. But given the gravity of this situation, they’ve chosen not to release a statement today and are expected to give their verdict by Wednesday.