Video: Austin Dillon Wins in Controversial Finish at Richmond
Austin Dillon didn't earn his way onto the Christmas Card list for many of his competitors following his win in Sunday night's NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway, but the driver of the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Camaro was determined to score the win.
Dillon seemingly had the race won, but a caution with just two laps remaining, the first caution of the race due to cause, put his win in question and sent the race to an Overtime finish.
On the Overtime restart, Dillon lost the lead to Joey Logano, but determined to not let his first win since the 2022 season slip away, Dillon got up on the wheel and made an aggressive move into Turn 4 on the final lap of the race.
Dillon sent Joey Logano spinning from the lead, and then swiped left into the right rear of Denny Hamlin's car, which sent Hamlin into the outside wall.
After climbing from his No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro, Dillon said that he hated that he wrecked the leader for the win, but essentially, he had to do what he had to do.
"I don't know, man. It's been two years. This is the first car I've had with a shot to win. I felt like with two to go, we were the fastest car," Dillon explained. "Obviously had to have a straightaway. Wrecked the guy. I hate to do that, but sometimes you just got to have it. I got to thank the good Lord above. It's been tough for the last two years, man. I care about RCR, these fans, my wife. This is my first for my baby girl. It means a lot. I hate it, but I had to do it."
Dillon reiterated that he was prepared to do, "Whatever it takes," to win the race.
While Dillon was enjoying the spoils of his first win in two-plus years, Joey Logano was left seething about being turned on the final lap with a win in his sights.
"It's chicken shit," Logano stated. "There's no doubt about it. He is four car lengths back, not even close. Then he wrecks the 11 to go along with it. Then he's going to go up there and thank God and praise everything with his baby. It's a bunch of BS. It's not even freakin' close."
Logano continued by calling Dillon a, "Piece of crap."
Hamlin, who was also knocked out of a chance to win on the final lap, says the moves made by Dillon were certainly foul, but NASCAR doesn't ever rule against those types of moves it seems, which makes it fair.
"Well, it's obviously foul," Hamlin stated. "It's fair in NASCAR. We're just a different league, right? There is no penalties for rough driving or anything like that. It opens up the opportunity for Austin to be able to just do whatever he wants."
Hamlin says his biggest issue with the last lap shenanigans is that he took a hard shot to his shoulder, which he's had years of medical issues with.
"The problem I had, I got hooked in the right rear again. I'm just minding my business. He turned left and hooked me in the right rear. Blew my damn shoulder out," Hamlin said.
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