This is the first win that Austin Dillon has had in 2 years, but was it a fair win? This is something everyone in the NASCAR community is discussing and there is still no verdict. Although the officials have awarded Dillon the win, fans believe that the ruling was unjust because of Joey Logano getting wrecked by the RCR driver. But that was not the only car that Dillon made contact with.
Besides ending Logano’s leading race, Dillon continued to attack the finish line and that ended up with him making contact with Denny Hamlin’s car too. This has sparked a lot of discussions on the race online, and so far, it has mostly been debatable. However, a NASCAR insider took to X to share a race analysis, which, seemingly, exposed the RCR driver’s intentions while finishing the race.
Did Austin Dillon intentionally wreck two cars at Richmond?
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Until now, everyone relied on the race footage to say that Austin Dillon wrecked two cars. In the footage, it is not extremely clear as to what Dillon did on the last turn, as there was too much happening at the time. However, a simulation was shared on X to show exactly what the driver was doing on the last turn of the race he won.
The simulator clip shows exactly how Dillon’s car made contact with both the other drivers, and by the looks of it, it seems like the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing driver has intentionally hooked both of these drivers. Although NASCAR drivers go extremely fast through the race, the final stretch is when they are really pushing it.
While going all out on the last turn, Dillon is seen in the simulation to have chosen a different race line compared to his previous lap. The No. 3 Chevy’s trajectory changed when it made contact with the rear of the Team Penske car. By the looks of it, it seems like Dillon could have avoided the second wreck with Denny Hamlin, but he gave a nudge to the Joe Gibbs Racing driver.
There have been a lot of opinions on the moves by Austin Dillon on the last lap but best way to analyze them is to look at the actual data so let's dig into his last two laps in a quick thread.
Orange = Lap 407
Blue = Lap 408 pic.twitter.com/t104uOyX7L— Bozi Tatarevic (@BoziTatarevic) August 12, 2024
What’s your perspective on:
Is Austin Dillon's intentional wrecking a sign of desperation or just dirty racing?
Have an interesting take?
Richard Childress, Dillon’s grandfather and car owner, defended his actions, stating that he did what was necessary to win and that such moves are part of racing when the stakes are high. Although Dillon admitted to intentionally crashing into Joey Logano, he claims his move against Hamlin was a reflex reaction.
In the end, Childress will obviously try to defend his grandson, and here is what he said about the incident.
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Richard Childress stood up to defend his driver after the wreck that took out Logano and Hamlin. Childress said, “They would have done it to him, you know?… It’s one of those deals where, when it comes down to winning a race and you’re in that position, you’re hungry, and you do what it takes. That’s what I told him all his life.” From the looks of the last race, Austin Dillon has taken his grandfather’s advice.
However, the driver also had something to say, as he admitted, “[Logano] was trying to get him loose, but [Hamlin] was more of a reaction. I wasn’t lifting at that point because I was more looking at where [Logano] was. When [Hamlin] came across, it was just reaction.” While this is what Austin Dillon had to say, the race analysis shows a different picture.
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Denny Hamlin, who suffered from the wreckage, strongly believes that the move was an intentional one, and the data from the clip above only proves that. With that said, do you think it was fair for Austin Dillon to wreck his way to victory? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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Debate
Is Austin Dillon's intentional wrecking a sign of desperation or just dirty racing?