The Richmond race’s finish was a controversial one, and no one can deny it. Austin Dillon won the race, but according to many, he did not deserve it. The win would not have been possible if Joey Logano had not spun out after making contact with Dillon. Right after the contact, Logano knew that his race was over as he found himself in the outer wall, finishing P19 after being in the lead heading into the last turn.

What’s more? Right after Logano, Denny Hamlin faced the wrath of the No. 3 Chevrolet driver, as he too ended up crashing into the wall after contact with Dillon. This has many fans riled up, as they believe that the RCR driver played dirty and wrecked his way to victory. In the end, NASCAR decided to award Dillon the win and a spot in the playoffs without any penalty for the commotion caused on the track. Now the main question in the NASCAR community is whether the officials made the right decision or not.

Many fans have taken to X to discuss this, and although most of them agree that Joey Logano’s wreck was caused by Austin Dillon, Hamlin’s crash became another story. According to many fans, Denny Hamlin was not wrecked by Dillon, as they believe that he wrecked himself. While the community is split in half with what they believe the result should be, a post on X triggered a new sentiment. Although there are several interviews of Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin speaking of the race, one talk about Tyler Reddick not enjoying the outcome surfaced.

After the race, when Tyler Reddick spoke to the media, he discussed the main topic at hand, the crash on the last lap. Although he did not directly face the aftermath of the collisions, he was not happy because his team boss got caught up in the crash. Joey Logano spoke about the incident after the race to say, “He was four car-lengths back; it wasn’t even close. It’s a bunch of BS. Not even freaking close. Bump-and-run, I get it, but he got in there and just drove through me. It’s ridiculous!” 

Building on what Logano said after the race, Reddick stated, “Joey stole the words right from me.” Concluding his statement, he mentioned, “Racing for the win is one thing. Just plainly right, hooking someone is another.” Reddick’s statements started to make the rounds on the internet as an X post that shared his comments started to get flooded in the comments section.

What did fans have to say about Tyler Reddick defending Denny Hamlin?

Now, it’s hard to say what exactly went down between Denny Hamlin and Austin Dillon, as the blame cannot be pinned on either in this situation. After hooking Joey Logano, Dillon had to avoid the spinning car, and it was at that time that Hamlin made his move. This fan believes that it was Hamlin who pulled up on the No. 3 Chevy driver. In the comment, they stated, “He didn’t hook your boss. Denny came up. Dillon just kept going and didn’t move.”

A comment from what sounds like a veteran came up as they compared how NASCAR’s fan base has changed over the years. By saying, “NASCAR fans these days do nothing but cry about racing,” they shared that they believe that fans are now just busy complaining about what’s wrong with the sport.

“Who rightly hooked who? It looked like Hamlin rightly hooked himself by coming up on Dillon to cut him off,” said another fan who likewise believed that Dillon was not to blame in this situation. The commotion left a lot of room for fans to come up with theories of what happened. According to NASCAR’s ruling, no one was at fault, and the whole scene during the last turn was nothing but a couple of racing incidents.

Another fan said, “Denny hooked himself. Get real,” while defending Austin Dillon. While, according to Hamlin, the crash was Dillon’s fault, more fans emerged trying to defend the Richard Childress Racing driver’s victory.

One fan shared why they believe the sport is dying. According to them, “Nascar is soft.” Reflecting on Hamlin’s statements, they added, “All the drivers that are complaining are the ones that have done the same thing in the past. Probably why the sport is dying.” With such a statement, it’s hard to agree or deny the claim, as this fan is put off by the complaints from other drivers. However, if the matter of safety comes up, such reckless driving can be avoided.

With the playoffs on the line for Austin Dillon, do you think that he was in the right for this entire incident? Share your thoughts in the comments below.