In the aftermath of the Cook Out 400 NASCAR race, which witnessed aggressive driving tactics by Austin Dillon that led to the wreck of Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin, the racing community has been debating the controversy.
The core of the debate harks back to a 2018 incident at Martinsville involving Joey Logano and Martin Truex Jr. In a strikingly similar scene, Logano had nudged Truex out of the lead to secure a win. Reflecting on these parallels, Truex commented on the similarity in intent between the two episodes, despite Logano’s assertion that they differ substantially. Truez Jr. explained to the media, as quoted by Yard Barker:
“I mean I think maybe the outcome was a little different with that, but the intent was the same, right? It was I’m going to drive into the corner as hard as I can and hit the guy and hope I can get by him. I don’t really agree with what (Logano) said. But I don’t know.”
Dillon faced significant repercussions, including a 25-point deduction and the loss of his playoff spot, with NASCAR citing his driving as detrimental to the sport. Truex voiced his approval of NASCAR’s firm stance.
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“Big picture I think I’m happy they did something, because I just don’t agree with that kind of racing. I understand the format and everybody just blames that. You still have to drive the car and anyone can drive through the guy in front of them. Anyone can do it. Takes no skill, not talent at all. So I’m glad they did something so guys will be a little more hesitant to do that.
“But yeah, I mean we’ve seen these things happen before over the years, so it is what it is.”
Regarding the speculation over whether Dillon’s maneuver was deliberate, Truex maintained a neutral stance.
“I’ll be honest with you, I haven’t even looked at it close enough because at the end of the day it doesn’t really affect me and my thoughts on the situation don’t really affect anyone or really even matter for that sake. I didn’t really study it like a lot of people did.”
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