Denny Hamlin demands NASCAR punish Austin Dillon: 'Can not reward that type of action'

Denny Hamlin wants NASCAR to take action on Austin Dillon for wrecking him and Joey Logano at the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway. On the Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin sounded off on Dillon driving recklessly to clinch a playoff spot.

“You can not reward that type of on-track action in my opinion,” Hamlin said. “We’ve gone too far. This is too far. I understand side-by-side battles, sometimes someone spins out. But that was cleaning someone out and not a racing move.”

Hamlin added that NASCAR’s format of getting into the playoffs is at fault. “The format didn’t make Austin Dillon make those decisions, but it rewarded it if NASCAR doesn’t enforce its rules,” Hamlin explained. …”Do I believe a win and your in is the right thing? No, because obviously, the three team is not a top-16 team. … Racing nowadays with fuel mileage and this that and the other, one win is too easy to get to like say ‘Okay, well then you should battle for a championship.’ I think they had a top-30 rule in place for a reason, to keep people from being absolutely horrible all year long and they lucking up and getting a win.”

Austin Dillon doesn’t seem to agree with Denny Hamlin

During his post-race press conference, Dillon was asked if NASCAR should take his win back because of how he earned the victory. “I’ve seen Denny and Joey make moves that have been running people up the track to win,” he said. “This is the first opportunity in two years for me to be able to get a win. I drove in there and kept all four tires turning across the start/finish line.

“To me, I’ve seen a lot of stuff over the years in NASCAR where people move people. It’s just part of our sport. You know what I mean? Remember when Joey said ‘short-track racing’. He knows what it was. In your shoes, what would you do?”

It’s possible NASCAR could penalize Dillon for wrecking Hamling and Logano, but it’s a small price to pay for a chance to compete in the playoffs. In 2004, NASCAR launched its playoff format to make the mid-season more competitive and increase TV ratings. It has been modified over the years, and 2014 was the first year that the playoffs were expanded to 16 drivers.