“I get bump and runs. I do that. I would expect it,” is what Joey Logano briefly admitted during his post-race diatribe against Austin Dillon. Both Logano and Denny Hamlin have time and again fixed themselves as aggressive go-getters in NASCAR races. However, both these drivers and their crew chiefs hurled abuses at Dillon after he clearly mimicked their past aggression.

Despite some fans and veterans like Kyle Petty siding with Dillon, most people aimed their guns at Richard Childress and Co. As if the piling pressure was not enough, the radio talk revealed how NASCAR’s usual black hats put their heads together to bash Dillon.

Austin Dillon causes waves of frustration

The Cook Out 400 race was a thrilling mess. Most of the 400-lap event unfolded without much incident, but things grew steamier towards the end. Austin Dillon was using the option tires optimally and led right until a caution flag was waved on lap 398. But he did not let go—he chased a leading Joey Logano and shoved him out of the way. Then his spotter, Brandon Benesch, audibly encouraged him to right-rear Denny Hamlin out of the way as well.

The radio messages emerged recently, and they would sound quite ugly to Austin Dillon’s ears. Right after Joey Logano spun out in a smoking wreck, Team Penske was raging in anger. The No. 22 crew chief, Paul Wolfe, threw a stern warning at officials: “NASCAR, you’d better do something about it, that’s a joke.” Then began Logano’s streak of fury: “They won’t do anything, it’s a f***ing circus.” He looked to vent his frustration. “Where’s that piece of s**t at?” However, Wolfe tried to restrain him by noting, “It’s up to NASCAR, not you, Joey. Don’t do a thing.”

The mood in the Joe Gibbs Racing garage was also far from sunny. After Dillon bumped Denny Hamlin out of the way, the latter fumed over the radio: “That’s f***ing bullshit!” Then his crew chief, Chris Gabehart, displayed an even steamier approach to Dillon. “That f***ing piece of sh*t wrecked us to win. 100% absolutely tried to kill you to win,” exclaimed the crew chief. The No. 11 spotter, Chris Lambert, also lamented the reckless state of things: “I guess right-rearing somebody now doesn’t matter like it used to.”

Clearly, Austin Dillon has whipped up waves of criticism against his reckless driving. However, his Richmond rivals are known to have a penchant for the wild as well. Denny Hamlin, NASCAR’s villain, had cemented his black hat status after some stunts last year. Most notable was his Tricky Triangle dust-up with Kyle Larson. The No. 11 made Turn 2 wide, which forced Larson into the wall off the corner. Hamlin went on to win the race, while Larson was left at P20, visibly “pissed”.

Cliff Daniels, the #5’s crew chief, however, took a calmer approach. “They’ve (Kyle and Denny) been friends for many years and and their friendship off track certainly means something. And then on track you because of that friendship you got to learn how to race each other with respect, and if and if that isn’t the case then that’s all those two to figure out. That’s not going to be on me, that’s not going to be on (Chris) Gabeheart.” 

This incident is a stark reminder of how the wrong can be wronged sometimes. As for Logano, he isn’t innocent either when it comes to some hard racing!

Logano’s bump and run was much like Dillon’s.

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While there are several events that cement Joey Logano’s status as a wild driver, one is most notable. In the May 2022 race at Darlington Raceway, the Team Penske driver was up to no good in the final few laps. After getting nudged by William Byron, Logano tracked down his Hendrick Motorsports rival after a restart with 24 laps left. On the final lap, he bumped into Byron’s No. 24 Chevy and sent it up the track – then cruising to Victory Lane with a gleeful face.

After getting a taste of Logano’s self-professed “bump and run”, Byron had launched a scathing rant against the #22’s unsavory ways. It echoed Logano’s own vilification of Dillon after Richmond. “He’s just an idiot. He does this stuff all the time. I’ve seen it with other guys.” Byron added, “We were really close off of Turn 2, and I think it spooked (Logano) and got him tight…He drove in there 10 miles an hour too fast, and with these Next Gen cars, he slammed me so hard, it knocked the whole right side off the car, and no way to make the corner. Yeah, he’s just a moron.”

That seems uncannily like Logano’s “chickens**t move” comments about Dillon, right? Well, hold your horses, because Logano was not one to back down either. Reiterating how his actions were just in response to Byron fencing him, Logano also warned that things would get far worse if the Hendrick Motorsports driver continues to escalate it further. “He can keep going, but I can promise you I’ll keep going – and I’ll go bigger every time.”

While the duo seemed to have moved on from that rivalry, a new one is certainly taking shape. For now, though, we can only wait and see what penalty NASCAR issues to Richard Childress’ grandson. As the NASCAR garage unites in support of some penalty, Austin Dillon is clearly not getting away easily.