Dillon Wrecks Logano and Spins Hamlin to Win at Richmond

Austin Dillon was about to pull off the biggest clean upset of the NASCAR season with his pass for the lead with 24 laps remaining at Richmond Raceway Sunday night. A late caution put Dillon in danger of losing his win on the green-white-checkered finish. He kept his win but only by wrecking his competitors.

Caution went up with under two laps remaining for the No. 47 of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and the No. 41 of Ryan Preece. Stenhouse got loose, and Preece was attempting to go to the bottom when he got hooked by the No. 47. This was the first non-stage-break caution of the day.

The leaders, with only 15 drivers on the lead lap, all went to pit for four fresh tires. Hamlin lost a position on pit row to Joey Logano, and Dillon won the race off pit row.

Dillon had a poor restart, and Logano easily took the lead; he kept it into turn one and two before he decided just how far he would go to end his two-year winless streak.

Entering turn three, Dillon, a full half-car-length back, accelerated to hit Logano's back bumper, turning him into the wall. Hamlin nearly snuck through underneath before Dillon hit him in the right rear, spinning him for his playoff-clinching win.

Dillon, entering the weekend, only had two top-10 finishes in the 2024 season and was seated in 32nd in the standings. With this win, he secured a spot in the NASCAR Playoffs.

Both Hamlin and Logano had a meeting with NASCAR at the conclusion of the race, and while the drivers would not speak on them, NASCAR's Elton Sawyer was made available to journalists at the track after the incident.

"Our sport has been a contact sport for a long time," Sawyer said. "We always hear, 'Where's the line? Did someone cross the line?' I would say the last lap is awfully close to the line. We'll take a look at all available resources, from audio to video and spotters, and we'll listen to crew chiefs and drivers. If anything rises to the level in which we feel the need to penalize, we'll do it on Tuesday."

The radio call that Jeff Gluck of the Athletic captured, with a spotter telling Dillon to "wreck him," was later denied by Richard Childress, who didn't hear it in real-time. Matt Weaver at Sportsnaut later showed the RCR owner and grandfather of Dillon the audio from his phone in the media center.

"I don't know, man. It's been two years, and this is the first car I've had with a shot to win," Dillon told NBC. "I felt like with two to go, we were the fastest guy, and Ricky wrecked a guy; I had to do that. Sometimes, you just have to. I have to thank the good Lord above. It's been tough for the past two years. I care about RCR, the fans, my wife; this is my first with my baby.... It means a lot."

"It was chicken shit. There's no doubt about it," Logano told the broadcast on being wrecked from the lead. "Then he's going to go up there and thank God and praise everything with his baby. It's BS."

When asked if he would get the driver of the No. 3 back next week or the playoffs, Logano replied, "Wait and see."

Hamlin, who's win at Richmond in the Spring was criticized for jumping the restart, told Fox Sports' Bob Pockrass that he knew the No. 3 was going to pull something.

"I knew the No. 3 was going to do something silly in turn three," Hamlin said. "He wasn't going to stop until he hit the No. 22. It's unfortunate that I was part of the two guys that were wiped out, but he thanked God.... God had a role in this somehow."

Hamlin's driver in 23XI, Bubba Wallace, is one of the drivers most impacted by this win. Hamlin and Logano both have their tickets punched to the playoffs, but Wallace, who finished fourth, stays at the cutoff line just three points above, with Dillon locking in from previously 24th in the points.

Hamlin was asked if his driver would do something similar next week.

"He could just wipe people out to get in," Hamlin agreed. "We've gotten here because this is what we've set up, with elimination, and playoffs, and knockouts, and one race for a championship. We're trying to manufacture these types of moments, and when we do it, we look silly, like tonight. In my mind, your sport has mud on your face, but I think there are probably people in Daytona that love this shit. They are the ones that are sending this sport backward."

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