A series of dramatic events occurred at the recent NASCAR Cup series race at the Richmond Raceway. The #3 of Richard Childress Racing, Austin Dillon, controversially took the victory. But, you have got to feel it for Joey Logano, where until the last moment he was going to take the checkered flag at P1, he was thrown behind on the 19th.

Joey Logano did not take kindly to the move played by the RCR driver. After the race, he stopped in front of the number 3 team and expressed frustration. Can you blame him? The Dillon faction is celebrating, however, precedence has shown us that NASCAR doesn’t take such matters lightly. Bubba Wallace knows it a little too well, he was previously fined $50,000 for deliberately bumping Alex Bowman at the Chicago street race.

Joey Logano’s act of frustration as he misses out on the top 5 spots

Here’s how Austin Dillon executed the controversial win at Richmond. A late caution flag on the final lap sent the race into overtime. Logano, driving for Team Penske, seized the lead on the restart by using the high lane.

As the final lap unfolded, Logano was leading when he was spun out by a desperate Austin Dillon, who had been in the lead for several laps before that. Dillon did not stop there, in the ensuing chaos, he made contact with Denny Hamlin‘s car, throwing him on the outside wall. Austin Dillon then took the win, his first since 2022.

The race wrapped up with Dillon in P1, Hamlin in P2, followed by Tyler Reddick in P3, Bubba Wallace took the fourth and Ross Chastain took the last spot in the top 5. Sadly for Joey Logano, he took the 19th spot. In his act of frustration, As he was going through the pit lane. He spun his tires in front of Dillon’s crew. NASCAR officials rushed to the car asking him to keep it cool. Logano’s streak of frustration did not stop there. He also delivered some not-so-kind words.

These actions of the racer did not sit well with the NASCAR officials. Noah Lewis reported on X, “Logano spins his tires as the team cheers. NASCAR officials unhappy with the move.” If the actions did not speak louder, he even came forth to deliver some strong sentiments related to Austin Dillon’s win. Logano said, “When you get that far ahead that’s three to four car lengths ahead into (Turn) 3. I even backed up the entry. I was like, ‘I’ll just wrap the bottom here. I’m good.’ And he just drives in so hard.”

“Obviously, he didn’t make the turn because he hit me and (Hamlin) was going to win the race, so he had no intention to race. I beat him fair and square on the restart and he just pulls a chicken shit move,” the professional added. He straight out declared, in a post-race interview, “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.” Even Denny Hamlin was upset with Dillon as he said, “Obviously, he’s just not going to go far (in the postseason). You have to pay your dues back on stuff like that.”

On the other hand, Austin Dillon had no remorse for his actions. He was set to take the win by hook or by crook. According to him he just had to do what he did. Reiterating this in a post-race interview; he said, “I felt like with two [laps] to go, we were the fastest car obviously at the straightway and wrecked the guy. I hate to do that but sometimes you just got to have it.” Dillon’s win has steered new trouble for the bubble drivers.

Dramatic shift in the playoff picture

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This doesn’t affect Logano or Hamlin’s playoff chances as they sit comfortably in the top 10. However, the dramatic events on the track have caused major changes in the playoff picture. Going into the race there were four vacant spots in the playoffs, now the driver who is 26th in points has taken the 13th spot.

Not just that there were some changes in the bubble too. Martin Truex Junior who was enjoying a comfortable cushion of +108 points above the cutoff line, had his cushion reduced to +78 as he got a DNF. Ty Gibbs is 60 points behind him in the 15th position. The 16th is now occupied by Bubba, because of his constant performance, getting a P4.

The #23’s team won’t celebrate just yet as his cushion is so slim that it can change drastically in the next race. Ross Chastain and Chris Buescher are only -3 points below the cut-off line. As the regular season is nearing its end, it’s getting more and more intense. Would it be enough for the bubble drivers to just have the most points? How many new winners are we going to see in the next three races? Only time will tell. Who do you think will make the playoff out of the bubble? Let us know in the comments below.