The Richmond race sent some thrilling shocks across the NASCAR community. Austin Dillon, a poor contender in the Cup Series for the past two years, suddenly found himself on the front row. He utilized Goodyear’s option tires well and looked poised to break his 68-race winless streak. But things got complicated with a caution flag when he chose to resort to aggressive tactics to secure his position.

It worked out in the end, as Dillon tasted victory—only for a short period. NASCAR brought down its judicial hammer and stripped the benefits of the race win. Now Dillon’s race victim, Denny Hamlin, breaks down why this step was necessary, albeit admitting the complication of the judgment process.

Denny Hamlin draws the line

After Dillon spun out both Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano to win the Cook Out 400, controversy erupted. Most in the NASCAR garage condemned the aggression, while some defended it. “I’ve learned a lot from Denny and Joey over the years,” Dillon said, referring to the countless times that both have wrecked people to snag a win. Even veteran driver Kyle Petty and some NASCAR fans sided with this argument. However, Hamlin disagrees.

NASCAR slapped a points penalty on Austin Dillon, dropping him from 26th to 31st and stripping his playoff eligibility. In a pre-race presser for Michigan, Denny Hamlin defended this penalty, drawing a line between Dillon’s aggression and ‘hard racing’. “I think if two cars are battling side-by-side and one of them hits the wall because of close racing that is going to be deemed okay. I think if you come from a long way back – you were not going to win the race until you decided to wreck someone, I think that is a clear line in the sand.”

But the Joe Gibbs Racing driver admitted how thin the line of distinction becomes. “But sometimes balls and strikes aren’t totally clear. There is one right on the edge, and you have to call it, but it is up to us to make the decision. Do we want to put ourselves in that position where it could be called one way or the other? I think that you just have to live with the result. I think if NASCAR polices it and intentional wrecks for the win going forward, there are going to be some close calls.”

Both Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano have executed bump-and-runs. For instance, Logano had wrecked Matt Kenseth to grab the 2015 Kansas win, and Hamlin had nudged Kyle Larson to win in Pocono last year. But those instances are kind of different, as they were in the heat of the moment and could be deemed as retaliatory measures. Even Logano agreed that Dillon’s actions were uncalled for: “There was never any history in the past with Austin, at least in my remembrance.”

However, Dillon does not hold any regrets for his Richmond fiasco, although his penalty has opened the doors for rivals.

Dillon still holds his head up high

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The No. 3 Richard Childress Racing team may have had a blast last Sunday, but the repercussion was crippling. Three days after the Cook Out 400 race, NASCAR announced Dillon committed “actions detrimental to stock car auto racing ” and dragged him out of the playoff field. Both Dillon and his team lost points, and spotter Brandon Benesch was suspended for three races for yelling ‘wreck him!’ over the radio. These consequences offer a bright scenario for a few drivers.

There are 12 drivers with a spot secured in the playoffs, leaving four spots open with three races remaining. Among the aspirants is Bubba Wallace, Denny Hamlin’s driver for 23XI Racing. “There are still four spots left instead of the three,” Wallace said. “Definitely a relief there, but it is still going to be a dogfight. We are still not safe but there is an extra spot open now.”

Despite the flipped situation, Austin Dillon still holds no regrets as he goes to Michigan. “I’ve learned a lot from Denny and Joey over the years. They don’t have any regrets (over) what they do on the race track and I can’t either. I don’t feel that way. I’m not going to say I regret anything because I didn’t. I went to sleep and felt really good about everything I had to do for me and my team.”

Although he is confident, Austin Dillon may need more than luck to have another chance to crack the playoffs. If not other, but two stellar Cup drivers may definitely create problems for him.