Joey Logano Calls Austin Dillon “Chicken S–t” For Wrecking His Way To Richmond Win
The NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway was a wild one, but not in the way everyone expected.
The Cook Out 400 was the season’s first points race to feature an option tire that delivered quicker lap times, but only for about 30 laps before it started to fall off. The tires had been trialed during the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
NASCAR was hoping it would mix things up on the short track by adding a new strategic element and it definitely had an effect.
Daniel Suarez was the first to put them on during a round of pit stops and he proceeded to drive through the field from 14th to first in a few laps before going on to win the second stage.
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He fell back as a big batch of drivers went for the option tires, which feature red lettering, but grabbed a set for his last stint as Denny Hamlin and a surprisingly fast Austin Dillon battled for the lead.
Dillon managed to pull clear of Hamlin as Suarez closed quickly, but there weren’t enough laps left for him to get back to the front before he lost his advantage.
Dillon looked like a sure bet for the win with two laps to go when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. ran into Ryan Preece to bring out a yellow and push the race into overtime.
Dillon and all the other leaders came in for option tires under yellow and he won the race off of pit road ahead of Joey Logano, Hamlin and Tyler Reddick.
Dillon lined up on the inside for the restart with Logano on the outside. Logano got a good start and was able to take the lead on the backstretch of the first overtime lap and put some a car length between them before the final lap, but it wasn’t enough for what Dillon did next.
Coming into the final turn Dillon ran up on Logano and hit him square in the rear bumper, spinning him out of the way just as Hamlin passed them on the inside and came up the track only to have Dillon spin him and take the checkered flag for the win.
“That was chicken s–t, there’s no doubt about it,” Logano said on USA after the race.
“I get it, bump and run, I didn’t back up the corner at all, he came in there and just drove through me, it’s ridiculous that that’s the way we race. Unbelievable.”
The win locked Dillon into the playoffs despite coming into the race 32nd in the standings. Logano and Hamlin had already secured post-season spots through wins.
“I hate to do that, but sometimes you just gotta have it,” Dillon said after the race. The win was his first since the 2022 Coke Zero 400 at Daytona.
“I hate it, but I had to do it.”
Hamlin said he wasn’t one to throw stones, but that a line was crossed. The problem was, is that the line is “invisible.” He told Fox Sports that NASCAR has rules to prevent “ridiculous acts” but that they aren’t enforced.
“It’s tough because this is what the young short track racers see and they think that this is OK, because they watch the professionals on Sunday that are supposed to act like adults just do dumb s–t and it’s just amazing that it’s allowed.”
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