Austin Dillon won his first NASCAR Cup Series race of the year on Sunday night, and he infuriated many of his fellow drivers with the way he made it happen.
Dillon took the checkered flag at the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Va., after wrecking both Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin on the final lap. Dillon had been leading for 30 laps when the caution flag came out with 2 laps to go. Logano had a great overtime restart, but Dillon’s No. 3 Chevrolet made contact with Logano’s No. 22 Ford near the end of the race, causing Logano to spin out.
Hamlin then very briefly took the lead, but Dillon appeared to make a sharp move to the left that caused Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota to spin out as well.
AUSTIN DILLON SLAMS INTO JOEY LOGANO!
HE WINS AT RICHMOND. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/6fCmEzG6WC
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) August 12, 2024
Logano was fuming after the race. He absolutely unloaded on Dillon and called Dillon a “piece of crap.”
“It was chickens–, there’s no doubt about it. He’s four car lengths back,” Logano said. “He’s not even close. Then he wrecks the 11 to along with it. Then he’s gonna go up there and thank God and praise everything with his baby (in his arms). It’s a bunch of BS. It’s not even close. I get it, bump-and-run, I get it. I didn’t back up the corner at all. He came in there and just drove through me. It’s ridiculous that that’s the way we race. Unbelievable. … What a piece of crap.”
Joey Logano is pissed pic.twitter.com/ROWiW5WPRy
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) August 12, 2024
Dillon was holding his infant daughter during his victory celebration, which is what Logano made reference to.
Dillon secured a playoff spot with the win, which is likely why he was aggressive at the finish and made no apologies for wrecking two fellow drivers. The real repercussions could come in the form of payback if he’s involved in a close finish in the future.
