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By Lydia Mee
Sports Contributing Writer
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After a controversial ending to the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway, NASCAR officials levied significant penalties against prominent drivers Joey Logano and Austin Dillon following contentious on-track incidents.
Logano, piloting the No. 22 Team Penske Ford, was hit with a $50,000 fine after a display of anger post-race, where he spun his tires close to the Richard Childress Racing (RCR) No. 3 team's pit box, causing nearby celebrants to urgently clear the area. This move was cited by NASCAR as a breach of their safety protocols and member conduct guidelines.
Parallel to Logano's fine, Austin Dillon faced penalties for his actions during the race's final lap, where he collided with both Logano and Denny Hamlin. NASCAR disqualified Dillon's win from playoff eligibility and deducted 25 points from both his drivers' and owners' standings, moving him from 26th to 31st in rankings. The governing body invoked Section 12.3.2.1.b of the NASCAR Rule Book, which addresses playoff eligibility and fair racing conduct.
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NASCAR Senior Vice President of Competition, Elton Sawyer, provided insight into the decisions. He commented on Logano's fine, as per the penalty report from NASCAR:
"Some of this, we've got some work to do on our side. There was a lot of people on pit road, and there always is. We have our officials out there. The drivers need to understand that. Totally understand the emotion — I get it, I've been there a few years back.
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"But you have to respect the fact that we do have people on pit road. Our officials will be there, security will be there. We'll do a better job on our side to make sure that families and young children and sponsors and of that nature are not on the hot side."
Noting Dillon's penalty, Sawyer explained:
"I think in all due respect to the appeal process, we looked at this and the totality of everything that happened as you enter Turn 3 and as the cars got to the start/finish line.
"So, as we look through all of that data, we came to the conclusion that a line had been crossed. Our sport has been based going for many, many years, forever, on good, hard racing. Contact has been acceptable. We felt like, in this case, that the line was crossed."
Adding to the penalties, Brandon Benesch, the No. 3 team spotter for Dillon, received a three-race suspension for instructing Dillon to "wreck" Hamlin, an instruction captured over team radio which contradicts the role expected of spotters and crew chiefs as "calming voices" during the race. Sawyer lamented the infringement, saying:
"If you look at the crew chief and you look at the spotter, and view them as calming voices in the driver's ear, in this case, we just felt like we've all listened to the audio. We know exactly what was said. We just felt like that that's not what we need spotters doing. That's not what we need (from a) crew chief sitting on the box. They're a calming voice to what the situation is in front of them, and they're supposed to be spotting for the race, not making comments like were made, as we all know."
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