Dillon will get to maintain the win, however so far as larger implications are involved, it’s all however meaningless. It is not going to depend towards the playoffs, that means if he’s to qualify, he should win one of many subsequent three races (Michigan, Daytona or Darlington).
Moreover, he and his No. 3 group have been docked 25 championship factors whereas spotter Brandon Benesch is suspended for the rest of the common season. Benesch may very well be heard yelling “Wreck him!” to Dillon on team radio instantly earlier than he hooked Denny Hamlin into the wall coming to the road.
Lastly, Joey Logano, who Dillon spun in Flip 3 earlier than walling Hamlin, is fined $50,000 for unsafe habits on pit highway after the race wherein he deliberately smoked his tires whereas Dillon’s crew was strolling previous.
Ideally, one would have hoped for NASCAR to completely drop the hammer with both a suspension to Dillon, revoking the win fully or each. Nonetheless realistically, that is about the most effective one may ask for, and the precedent it units is straightforward: a spot within the “win and also you’re in” playoff format should be earned fair-in-square.
It is not the primary time NASCAR has disallowed a win from counting in the direction of the playoffs. In reality, paradoxically, one notable earlier occasion concerned Logano, at this identical monitor. In 2017, Logano received the spring Richmond race however his automobile failed post-race inspection, so his win was “encumbered” and he was compelled again to the drafting board. He ended up stunningly lacking the playoffs that season.
That ruling together with others across the identical time prompted NASCAR to finally start outright disqualifying drivers on account of technical infractions starting in 2019 (although Hamlin at Pocono in 2022 stays the one case wherein that has come into impact). It’s, although, an unprecedented penalty for a driver to lose his playoff eligibility on account of on-track actions.
It is a needed one, although, and a line within the sand has now been drawn. One can solely hope that this discourages some other drivers from trying to win the best way Dillon did on Sunday, and may they, they are going to face the identical penalties.
