Appeals Board Upholds Austin Dillon's Major NASCAR Penalty

The National Motorsport Appeals Panel, the body that oversees appeals applied to NASCAR participants, said on Wednesday it has upheld a penalty handed out to Austin Dillon after last weekend's NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond.

With this penalty, Dillon still keeps his win, but that win will still not count toward his playoff eligibility and the driver will still lose 25 championship points. His spotter, Brandon Benesch, has had a personal suspension reduced from three races to one.

Dillon was handed the original penalty last Wednesday. The original ruling was handed down because of Dillon's actions in the last two corners of the race, where he was accused of first intentionally wrecking leader Joey Logano and then swiping down the track to also collect a passing Denny Hamlin. This, NASCAR determined, violated its rules against winning finishes "unencumbered by violation(s) of the NASCAR Rules or other action(s) detrimental to stock car auto racing or NASCAR as determined in the sole discretion of NASCAR.”

Wednesday's appeal was heard by a panel made of stock car community members Tom DeLoach, Kelly Housby, and Tommy Wheeler. Richard Childress Racing will take their appeal one step further to a final appeal officer, Langley Speedway short track owner Bill Mullis.

That second appeal will be the team's final opportunity to appeal the decision, but Dillon can still make the playoffs by winning one of the next two races regardless of the outcome of either appeal. Dillon currently sits 29th in the series standings. If his win were restored or if he were to win another race before the playoffs start, he would be locked into a finish of 16th at worst and would still have a chance to win the series championship.

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