Brooklyn, Michigan Grinning, Bubba Wallace took a seat at the media center desk of Michigan International Speedway.
“Can only imagine what is going to be asked about,” Wallace said.
It was, of course, quite clear. The subject of discussion in the garage After Austin Dillon wrecked two drivers on the final lap to win at Richmond Raceway, Saturday was the same as it has been all week: What was the general consensus on NASCAR’s decision to discipline Dillon, and what message does that convey?
Following a few days of consideration, NASCAR said on Wednesday that Dillon would be let to keep his win, but that he would not be eligible to compete in the playoffs as would normally be the case. On the last lap at Richmond, Dillon purposefully took out Joey Logano entering Turn 4, then he spun and hooked Denny Hamlin into the wall.
Most drivers were happy that NASCAR intervened to decide on what they considered to be over-the-line racing for the first time since the playoffs started in 2004. According to Kyle Larson, “99 percent of the field” supported NASCAR’s move to impose a minimum driving standard.
“We have to determine what we’re going to be and how we’re going to be as a sport,” veteran Michael McDowell said. “Are we going to be ‘Boys, have at it’ and do anything you can to win a race and get your team into the playoffs? Or is there going to be sporting conduct and a code that says, ‘We want you to race hard, and we want you to go for it, but there’s a limit’?
“The line was crossed, and NASCAR responded correctly.”
Veteran driver Michael McDowell was pleased with NASCAR’s decision to penalize Austin Dillon. (David Yeazell / USA Today)
Drivers generally stated that the decision would not affect their racing strategy.Wallace said the frequent boasts about how most of them would “wreck your mother to win” were actually hot air, and in reality “you do everything in your power under the respectful line to win a race.”
To wit, Erik Jones firmly declared: “I don’t race that way. I wouldn’t have done it. … It is really not in my playbook.”
Added Chris Buescher: “I know what I’m here to do, what I’m willing to do and what I’m comfortable with. Whatever the ruling — there may not be the most clarity there if you’re trying to put it on paper, but we understand what’s acceptable.”
However, several drivers could see why Dillon took his action. The difference between making the playoffs and missing them, as described by McDowell as a “$3 million lap,” is what motivated Dillon to make his last-ditch effort to win.
“If he makes that stick and everything goes good, it’s a big swing for his team and his partners,” McDowell said. “I don’t sit here being like, ‘Oh, that was stupid. That was uncalled for.’ I go, ‘I get it.’ Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t, and it just didn’t work.”
However, the question still stood: Are drivers aware of the boundary? Other than stating that Dillon was penalized for the “totality” of his actions, NASCAR has not yet provided a clear explanation.
According to Hamlin, the rules are clear: cars that engage in close racing and make contact with one other will be accepted, but deliberately damaging the leader of the race in order to win it out is not.
Still, he added: “Sometimes balls and strikes aren’t totally clear. There is one right on the edge and you have to call it, but it is up to us to make the decision … to put ourselves in that position where it could be called one way or the other.”
The absence of a clear explanation for Dillon’s penalty led teammate Kyle Busch of Richard Childress Racing to remark that the rule is not very clear.
“They all want to say we know where the line is; we don’t know where the line is,” Busch said. “Logano flat out wrecked me at Vegas for third place in the exact fashion that (Dillon) knocked him out of the way for a win. That’s why he got punched in the face (in a viral 2017 fight).”
Austin Cindric of Team Penske said he understood why the authorities had not yet clarified the details, including what could be done to stop short of going over that line, given that Dillon’s team had filed an appeal on Wednesday. In the upcoming weeks, Cindric hoped NASCAR will provide more details about its decision.
However, it is possible that clarity will not materialize. While it would be ideal for NASCAR to be able to outline the regulations for any scenario that might arise, Brad Keselowski stated that it is difficult for NASCAR to forecast the future because new situations will inevitably arise.
In that regard, Keselowski said officials “made as good of an attempt as you could make to draw a line in the sand.”
“We want them to be proactive and not reactive, but they’re outnumbered significantly by people who are always trying to find new ways to beat systems,” Keselowski said. “And in some cases, they have to be reactive. This is one of those cases, in my mind.”
The poster kid for recently closed gaps that were exploited is Ross Chastain. His “Hail Melon” move at Martinsville was permitted to remain but was later prohibited for usage in the future. He discovered a shortcut at the Indianapolis road course that was penalized for being too conspicuous.
Similarly, Chastain said the line after Richmond is “not clear, but I am constantly aware of what I feel like everyone is thinking.”
“You just can’t be too far against the grain, in my opinion,” he said of what causes NASCAR to react.Chastain and Dillon gave the impression that Hamlin’s candor might have contributed to the punishment.Dillon said Hamlin displayed “gamesmanship” with his comments on the “Actions Detrimental” podcast and showed the veteran was good at knowing how to work the system.
“He plays the game well, and in the end, this is a game,” Dillon said, politely declining to elaborate on his feelings about the penalty decision. “I’ve got to do the same thing right now with my approach to everything that’s going on. We’re in the middle of the thick of it for that process.”
Regarding the possibility of the public conversation influencing NASCAR, Chastain was more circumspect.
“We’re listening to people, hearing who is loud and who is the squeaky wheel,” he said. “It looks like they got some grease.”
Following Richmond, Dillon was not the only one punished. As cars were making their way back to the pits, Logano conducted a burnout close to Dillon’s family and friends, who were strolling toward the track. For his risky behavior, Logano was fined $50,000.
Logano stated he was never in danger of running someone over even though he understood that what he did was improper. He noted that, given the situation, he shown restraint.
“It’s comparable to somebody breaking into your house and taking all your stuff, and a minute and a half later, you see them all celebrating with your stuff in your front yard,” he said. “What would you do?”
(Top photo: Sean Gardner / Getty Images)
