NASCAR will evaluate all out there knowledge regarding the final lap occasions from Sunday night time at Richmond Raceway the place Austin Dillon made contact with two drivers en path to victory.
“Our sport has been a contact sport for a very long time,” mentioned NASCAR senior vp of competitors Elton Sawyer. “We at all times hear, ‘The place’s the road?’ and ‘Did somebody cross the road?’ I might say that the final lap was terrible near the road.
“We’ll check out all of the out there assets from audio to video, take heed to spotters, we’ll take heed to crew chiefs and drivers, and if something rises to a degree that we really feel like we have to penalize, then we’ll try this on Tuesday.”
Dillon was operating second when he drove into Flip 3 on the ultimate lap of time beyond regulation within the Prepare dinner Out 400 and hit the rear bumper of Joey Logano’s Ford Mustang. The contact despatched Logano right into a spin and the surface wall. Logano, who completed nineteenth, known as it a rooster (expletive) transfer as Dillon got here from a few automotive lengths again to make contact.
The chain of occasions continued when Dillon hooked Denny Hamlin in the best rear of Flip 4. Hamlin was to the within of Dillon – given the chance as Dillon washed up the monitor after the contact with Logano – earlier than his automotive was shot to the surface wall due to the hook, which cleared Dillon’s path to victory.
Logano completed nineteenth. Hamlin crossed the end line fifth.
“It occurred quick,” Sawyer mentioned when requested if NASCAR didn’t view something egregious in actual time. “However I might say, should you take a look at that, in my opinion that’s getting proper up actually near crossing the road.”
Sawyer felt Sunday night time was an incredible race with positives, similar to the choice tire Cup Collection groups had of their allotment. However because it pertains to the final lap, Sawyer reiterated NASCAR is a contact sport that wishes drivers to race laborious. The talk throughout NASCAR’s evaluate of what came about at Richmond is how far the drivers can go, and Sawyer additionally agreed that maybe what’s acceptable in NASCAR at the moment has modified from what was seen all through its historical past.
“Our sport is 75 years outdated – so much has occurred in 75 years,” he mentioned. “So, I believe we have now to be taught from the incident tonight and transfer ahead and see if there’s one thing that … racing within the period that we race in at the moment and the way in which our younger youngsters are developing racing at brief tracks, we need to make it possible for the very best degree of racing, which is NASCAR Cup Collection, is finished on the highest degree and it’s completed with the utmost integrity and sportsmanship and that’s what we’re about. So, we’ll see if we have to modify accordingly going ahead.”
Whether or not that can embody a penalty to Dillon, even perhaps taking the win away, is to be decided.
“Traditionally that hasn’t been our DNA to take races away, however that’s to not say that going ahead this wouldn’t begin to set a precedent,” Sawyer mentioned. “We’ve got to have a look at it.”
