The Tricky Triangle was witness to a racing spectacle on Sunday. With the quintessential NASCAR racing coming back into sight and the urgency of playoff qualification coming into play, post-race tantrums were expected. But with the aggression, fans also expected some suspensions and penalties from the responsible authorities.
Yesterday, NASCAR announced that none of the drivers will be going into Richmond with a suspension or a penalty despite everything that ensued on the track. Speaking on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Senior Vice President of Competition, Elton Sawyer, also explained that there were many issues that can be resolved by a dialogue between the drivers. A surprising inclusion for Richmond will be Richard Childress Racing driver Austin Dillon, whose violent display stood out on Sunday.
No penalties from Pocono weekend. All clear at R&D center.
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) July 25, 2023
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NASCAR denied any penalty for Richard Childress’s driver Austin Dillon
Renowned journalist Bob Pockrass cleared the air of suspense for the fans on Twitter. He tweeted, “No penalties from Pocono weekend. All clear at R&D center.” But there’s more. One of the replies showed curiosity about the Denny Hamlin-Kyle Larson saga as the dispute between the two continues.
Pockrass clarified, “No behavioral penalties from Pocono. Not for Larson for actions under yellow Not Austin Dillon for helmet throw. Not Ty Dillon for wreck with Briscoe (nascar viewed that as a racing incident). Not Preece for whatever happened with LaJoie.”
No behavioral penalties from Pocono. Not for Larson for actions under yellow Not Austin Dillon for helmet throw. Not Ty Dillon for wreck with Briscoe (nascar viewed that as a racing incident). Not Preece for whatever happened with LaJoie. https://t.co/M347baIveQ
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) July 25, 2023
The senior VP then informed that the plan is to create a bridge between the two drivers so that they communicate with each other to find a middle ground. After his wreck with 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick, Dillon went furious as he aimed his helmet at the #45 Camry but missed the target, fortunately. Richard Childress’s grandson was lucky this time around.
“When you get down to the end of the race and you’re in position to have a strong finish, totally understand the emotion, didn’t see anything there (that warranted a penalty). We plan to have a conversation with both of those guys to make sure we’re in a good headspace as we go into Richmond. We’ve said it before … our drivers get very emotional, which is part of what is the draw for our fans.” said Sawyer.
Amid all this, more such events took place at different phases of the race. After coming in contact with Spire Motorsports’ Corey LaJoie, Ryan Preece spun out into the track in the penultimate lap. Preece took his sweet time and went yelling at Corey in the pit road. Another unexpected demand would be Joey Logano’s who ultimately went out of the race with flattened tires and inadequate pace.
AUSTIN DILLON THROWS HIS HELMET AT TYLER REDDICK! 😳 #NASCAR | @USANetwork pic.twitter.com/0nYgcCtzlZ
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) July 23, 2023
Sawyer called for a truce between Larson and Hamlin
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“We have two of the greatest race car drivers that we’ve probably seen in the history of our sport behind the 11 and the 5 steering wheels. They’re future Hall of Famers, and we’re seven laps to go and they’re both doing everything they can to win the race,” said Sawyer admiring the two modern legends going toe-to-toe.
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The situation has eventually worsened and tension has slowly imbued into the relationship between the two. Sawyer then explained that the urgency of taking any action has not arisen so far. The bump by Hamlin that sent Larson into the wall destroyed all hopes for Larson to finish in the upper ranks of the race.
“So when you come up short on that, for whatever reason, if you feel like you’ve been done wrong, you’re going to be to upset.”
“You’re going to want to show your displeasure. … Those guys are professionals. I feel like they will handle that (moving forward) appropriately. If we feel like we need to get involved more, we will, but at this time, I don’t see anything we need to do on our side.”
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Next week at Richmond will be crucial to understand where two drivers are at, emotionally. Larson has shown enough strength in his words that suggest that he will be trying to get some respect back. On the other hand, Hamlin, who denies any faulty hands in the incident will be looking to ride on his win at Pocono.
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