Denny Hamlin crossed the line in fifth, but was scored second due to the timing of the caution. Conversely, Austin Dillon entered Richmond 32nd in the regular season points, but Sunday's victory has vaulted him into the playoffs and ensured that he will not end the year any lower than 16th.
Clearly frustrated, Hamlin lamented the quality of the officiating in the series, saying: "We're never ever gonna get taken seriously as a sport because we have no real officiating.
"I knew the #3 [Dillon] was going to do something silly in [Turn] 3. I saw him driving in. He wasn't going to stop until he hit the #22 [Logano]."
Hamlin went on to blame the current format, which incentivises winning over everything else.
"We're trying to manufacture these types of moments and when we do it and we look silly like tonight [when] your sport has mud on its face," he added.
"But I think there are probably people in Daytona [NASCAR headquarters] who love this shit and they're the ones who are sending this sport backwards."
Commenting on Dillon's move directly, Hamlin said: "It's obviously [a] foul. It's fair in NASCAR. We're just a different league, right? There are no penalties for rough driving or anything like that. It opens up the opportunity for Austin to be able to just do whatever he wants."
While spinning Logano was ugly, the right hook that sent Hamlin careening into the outside wall is even more problematic.
NASCAR has previously set a precedent that moves like that can and will be penalised. Chase Elliott was suspended for one race after hooking Hamlin into the outside wall during the 2023 Coke 600, and Bubba Wallace parked for a similar move on Kyle Larson the year before.
Although NASCAR doesn't penalise dirty driving unless it becomes an obvious safety issue, Hamlin still believes that a line was crossed, but reflected: "It's an invisible line. It's not defined. I mean, they have rules and provisions for stuff like this, but they never take action for it.
"What happens is you see young guys coming up in the short track ranks seeing that, and they think it's fine. That's why we see some of the lower series turn out the way they do in these green-white-chequered situations because some of the best that they're seeing on Sunday do stuff like that.
"I mean, who am I to throw stones in a glass house? But I certainly never won one that way."
