Following the controversial end to the Cook Out 400 at Richmond race track, NASCAR’s decision to penalize Austin Dillon has garnered support from fellow driver Christopher Bell. The incident heavily affected how the race ended, particularly affecting Denny Hamlin, Bell’s teammate, and Joey Logano.
The penalties imposed on Dillon, stripping him of his playoff eligibility post his Richmond win, have sparked conversations about the integrity of the sport.
Speaking with Frontstretch in Michigan, Bell voiced his approval of the NASCAR ruling.
“I’m happy. I’m happy that he isn’t in the playoffs because I do think that that… If they wouldn’t have said anything then it would have opened the can of worms, saying hey, anything goes.
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“I’m happy that they did tell us that that isn’t going to be accepted,” Bell stated.
Denny Hamlin, directly affected by Dillon’s aggressive driving during the race, also supported the penalties and shared detailed insights into what happened through Jerry Jordan, via 5 Goats.
“No, because Austin made a left-hand turn to avoid — after he made contact with the No. 22, made a left turn to correct his course, straightened his course, and turned left again.
“So, there were two — you know, if you can read the graph, there was a big left, straight, big left again. Trust me, I do this for a living.”
The unanimity in viewpoints between Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin elucidates a broader consensus among drivers, although not everyone agrees. Veteran NASCAR personality Kyle Petty had his say:
“Don’t whine Joey Logano, we’ve seen you do it before. Denny Hamlin, he can’t say much either. They’ve done the same thing.”
He continued:
“If you’re a new fan, you love that finish. And when I say new fan, last 25 years. If you’re an old fan, you’re embarrassed of that finish, because that’s not what NASCAR was built on, that’s not what NASCAR was.
“I don’t care you millennials and all you people out there, this is not the platform that my dad or Dale Earnhardt Sr. and those guys raced on. They didn’t just wreck, they raced. This is all about wrecking in these last few laps.”
NASCAR Cup Series Current Standings
- Kyle Larson – 779 points
- Denny Hamlin – 758 points
- Christopher Bell – 701 points
- William Byron – 678 points
- Ryan Blaney – 702 points
- Tyler Reddick – 774 points
- Chase Elliott – 773 points
- Brad Keselowski – 636 points
- Alex Bowman – 615 points
- Joey Logano – 557 points
- Daniel Suarez – 497 points
- Austin Cindric – 451 points
- Martin Truex Jr. – 662 points
- Ty Gibbs – 602 points
- Bubba Wallace – 587 points
- Chris Buescher – 584 points
(PLAYOFFS CUT-OFF) - Ross Chastain – 584 points
- Chase Briscoe – 485 points
- Kyle Busch – 465 points
- Todd Gilliland – 454 points
- Michael McDowell – 431 points
- Carson Hocevar – 414 points
- Josh Berry – 412 points
- Noah Gragson – 400 points
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – 376 points
- Ryan Preece – 341 points
- Erik Jones – 337 points
- Justin Haley – 329 points
- Corey LaJoie – 327 points
- Daniel Hemric – 323 points
- Austin Dillon – 319 points
- John Hunter Nemechek – 313 points
- Zane Smith – 262 points
- Harrison Burton – 243 points
- Kaz Grala – 166 points
- Cody Ware – 47 points
- Joey Hand – 43 points
- Jimmie Johnson – 39 points
- Derek Kraus – 32 points
- David Ragan – 17 points
- Kamui Kobayashi – 8 points
- Will Brown – 6 points
- Cam Waters – 2 points