Austin Dillon’s overtime desperation in Richmond was proof of NASCAR’s unpredictability with less than a month remaining in the 2024 playoffs. Although some would point at bad guidance for the #3 driver after his controversial actions against Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin, others would blame it on NASCAR’s high-risk, high-reward playoff format. 

While everyone seems to hold an opinion on the issue, the last man to be punted out of the way for Austin Dillon’s playoff berth had some interesting thoughts on the August 12 episode of Actions Detrimental. And from the legitimacy of NASCAR’s Richmond debacle to the future consequences of Dillon’s actions, Denny bared it all in a no-holds-barred post-race address on his podcast.

Denny Hamlin fires back at NASCAR’s flaws in the Playoff system

Sitting in fourth for the regular season championship in 2024, Denny Hamlin would’ve shot past Tyler Reddick, Chase Elliott, and Kyle Larson to go to the top of the table if he won on Sunday. He would’ve deserved it if he did. After all, Richmond is the #11 driver’s home track, situated only about half an hour from his native Chesterfield on a good day. Besides, with a sweep following his triumph at the racetrack earlier in March, he wouldn’t have felt out of place in Victory Lane or the playoff picture.

But he does not feel the same about Austin Dillon’s aggressively earned Richmond fortunes. “Obviously, the #3 team is not a top 16 team… Racing nowadays, fuel mileage, this that and the other, one win is too easy to get to like say that, ‘Okay, then you should battle for the championship,'” – he opined. “I think they had a top-30 rule in place for a reason. To keep people from being absolutely horrible all year long and then lucking up and getting a win.”

But it’s not like Dillon completely snatched away an undeserving win from the hands of Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin. His #3 car posted the fastest time in practice and started its race in sixth when the green dropped. Hence, Denny stated, “Now, he wasn’t gonna luck up and get a win until he did that. He was gonna get a win legitimately, right?” However, Denny disagrees with the current system that enables “cars 25th, 32nd in points deserve to be in the playoffs ‘cause they get a win.” He explained, “I just think that you’re watering down what this is all about, for sure. But that’s a separate conversation… I mean it makes it easier for me by the way, cause you know, the road to the championship gets easier.”

Heading into the Richmond race, Dillon was 32nd in the regular season points standings. After his double tap in overtime, he pushed past all the potential playoff contenders in discussions for an instant playoff berth at the Cook Out 400. One of them was his Richard Childress Racing teammate Kyle Busch, often considered way more deserving of a spot in the eliminators than Dillon. The man has had to win two Bill France Cups and the highest number of races out of anyone in active competition (63) for those honors. Regardless, Rowdy’s #3 teammate won his fifth Cup race under controversy when it mattered. And NASCAR’s criteria for an instant playoff spot helped him shake off the picture, claiming one of the remaining four with a bit of luck and a lot of motive.

After Richmond, drivers like Martin Truex Jr., Ty Gibbs, Bubba Wallace, and Ross Chastain (guys who have run better than Dillon all year long) fight for dilapidated chances to lock themselves in for a shot at the championship. All these developments must have forced Actions Detrimental co-host Jared Allen to ask Denny Hamlin, “What is the difference between finishing 16th in points and 30th in points?” 

Austin Dillon’s unlucky victim cleared several points of contention with his answer. “Probably about 2 million bucks in what the charter will get paid. That’s the key is that …. is to put a: ‘I’m a playoff driver.’ It’s quite the different playoff driver than others when you think about the context. But you know, if this stands, I believe that months, and months and months and years from now, ain’t nobody gonna care. It’s just gonna say, what does the box score say. ‘Oh you made the playoffs, great job!’ They don’t care about how you did it,” emphasized Denny Hamlin.

This playoff format, which was tuned to perfection post-2017, finds its roots in the former “Chase for the Cup” championship format, which existed for a good part of the mid-2000s. The big goal was to make NASCAR more exciting and get more people watching during the mid-season. Before this, NASCAR determined the season’s champ mathematically after the championship race at the extreme tail end of the season. And yes, although the sanctioning body’s motives with this new playoff-based format came to fruition successfully based on their initial intentions, it brought about its due doubters who found flaws in its imperfect system. Some could even look at Austin Dillon’s instant playoff berth as an example of the faltering system.

As it stands, Dillon has scored two top-10s, DNF’ed three times, and just typically struggled for speed this season. His performances before Richmond looked highly unlikely for a playoff position. So when he had the chance to pull one better on everyone who had counted him out for his dismal 2024 record, he went beyond the ‘invisible line’ to rattle a few cages hot at the heels for a chance to contend for the championship.

As Denny Hamlin looked back on losing the Cook Out 400 to contact from Austin Dillon’s car on the last lap, he understood his aggressor’s motives. “Yes, it is worth it to him. Absolutely. Because the system rewards: ‘All you gotta do is win a race, and you’re gonna put yourself from 32th to 16th in points at minimum,'” he said. “And that shouldn’t be the case. The system sets this up for that… That’s my point is that they need to enforce it. Because it cannot get any more egregious than this, it cannot.”

Understandably, Denny was mad, but not as much as Joey Logano was after getting turned into the wall blatantly from the rear. The Team Penske driver wasn’t so considerate of Dillon’s motive and lashed out left and right at his bump-and-run post-race. Denny might have had his bone to pick with NASCAR’s officiating. But by the looks of things following Richmond, the #22 driver might be pondering some payback for Austin Dillon after what happened on Sunday. And knowing Logano, he is not one to let disrespect slide at the very least.

This begs the question of Joey Logano’s own future intentions, now primed with motivation against Austin Dillon. Both drivers are heading to the playoffs with just a solo win in 2024. It is important to note that the others locked in with a one-win season after 23 races claim names like Chase Elliott, Austin Cindric, Alex Bowman, Ryan Blaney, Daniel Suárez, Brad Keselowski, and Tyler Reddick. That is no ordinary company for any driver hoping to make the eliminators. Despite the increased parity in the sport, which has resulted in even top-tier drivers scrambling for wins in the last three seasons, Denny highlighted another critical problem facing the current state of things in NASCAR.

Veteran driver demands tougher penalties in similar instances

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As their conversation progressed, Jared Allen pressed Hamlin on what he believed would be an appropriate penalty for Dillon should NASCAR decide to impose one. The man wasn’t shy about leaving that ruling in the hands of NASCAR. However, he concurred that “there’s no monetary, no point fine, that does anything… You have to do something to tell us you cannot intentionally crash someone for a win. Intentionally crash. Drive into the corner and say, ‘ Sorry, bud. It’s you. Not me. It’s you.’” Referencing his battles with Hendrick Motorsports rival Kyle Larson at Pocono, the JGR star laid out his deciding verdict: “When you drive in and say, I’m going until I wreck you, that is not a racing move. That is blatant, intentional wrecking, which is against the rules, times two.” 

Allen reiterated his question, hoping for a better answer. He even went the extra distance to provide his co-host with some options like, “Do you strip the win away? Do you take away the playoff eligibility? Do you institute a new rule that you have to be in top 20 in points to make the playoffs?” Denny noted, “No, you can’t do those things… You need to make a bigger picture, yes. You should make the eligibility of actually being a playoff driver a little harder than just winning a race…”

“Certainly rewarding a playoff spot for what we saw is not in the best interest of our sport long term. And I hope that they can see past the headlights right in front of them,” asserted Denny, as he painted a harrowing picture for all his listeners. “If we allow this, this is a bad, bad way to go. Because at Phoenix, just wipe all of your competitors out. Like, if I were in the final 4, what keeps me from just crashing all three of the guys I am up against?” 

An opinion as unfiltered as that one is bound to be taken out of context. Therefore, Denny provided some warranted explanations. “What will happen now is that when we come to a Cup race, someone’s close to another guy, just wreck them. You’ll say, “Well, I did what I had to do, they’re not moving on.’ I am. You can’t allow that. You’re ruining the integrity of the sport. So stop it right now before it gets there,” he warned the sport.

As per Denny’s conclusion, “If you say that this is okay and you allow it. And you allow someone to not only get into the first round, and into the playoffs. If you allow this egregious of an act, then you open up the door for someone who’s outside the cutline to just wreck someone that’s in the cutline… So you have to put the bumpers on us because clearly, we’re not thinking straight as drivers. And so that’s why we have rules in place to keep us within the roadway here.”

When Elton Sawyer defended NASCAR as a contact sport in his post-race media address to justify Austin Dillon’s aggressive maneuvers, a flicker of doubt appeared in the senior executive’s eyes. Sawyer seemed to recognize that Dillon had indeed veered dangerously close to an ‘invisible line’ that typically governs on-track behavior between drivers. Will Sawyer’s perspective bring a penalty for Dillon on Tuesday? That is unclear. However, the #3 driver’s edge to break a 68-race winless streak is certainly understandable. But to wreck two veterans of the sport and expect nothing in return would be foolishness. With his playoff berth now secured, the Richard Childress Racing driver must be wary of both his victims as he hopes to make it out of the treacherous Round of 16.