NASCAR sent a clear message last week to drivers that there are impressive consequences for your actions, especially for Austin Dillon who was stripped of his playoff eligibility after plowing through the cars of Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin to win the Cup race at Richmond. But Dillon and the Richard Childress Racing team immediately moved to appeal the decision where a three-person panel only reduced the suspension of Dillon's spotter from three races to one. He was the one who called for Dillon to "wreck him" over the radio.
The panel explained their ruling through the following statement: “NASCAR represents elite motorsports and, as such, its drivers are expected to demonstrate exemplary conduct if its series’ championships are to be validated. In this case, the ‘line’ was crossed.”
RCR was obviously displeased with the outcome, as regaining their playoff spot remains a top priority. They released a statement, saying how they are "disappointed in the results of today's hearing in front of the National Motorsports Appeals Panel. We respect the NASCAR appeals process, but we do not believe that today's outcome reflects the facts presented."
The plan for RCR is to appeal the decision further, going to the Final Appeal Officer. This is their last chance to get the punishment reduced or overturned. However, history shows that this to be unlikely.
Bill Mullis, owner of Langley Speedway, will hear the case. In the first appeal, the burden of proof is on NASCAR, but in the final appeal, the burden or proof is on the team to explain how the sanctioning body was in the wrong.
So what case can RCR make? They could argue the unprecedented nature of the penalty, as Denny Hamlin noted in a recent podcast. If the issue comes down to right-hooking Hamlin into the outside wall, maybe they can talk about recent incidents with Bubba Wallace and Chase Elliott, who were both suspended for intentionally turning rivals into the wall. Elliott's incident was during the regular season and he was actually granted a waiver, remaining eligible for the playoffs. However, neither of those incidents involved winning a race.
RCR could also pick apart NASCAR's comments/decisions immediately after the race, but the rulebook allows the sanctioning body some wiggle room to dish out penalties at their discretion. An critical excerpt from the rule referenced in the penalty against Dillon says as much:
"Race finishes must be unencumbered by violation(s) of the NASCAR Rules or other action(s) detrimental to stock car auto racing or NASCAR as determined in the sole discretion of NASCAR."
The last few words are going to make things very difficult for RCR. The sport appears to be putting its foot down on intentional wrecking, making an example out of Dillon as they set the guardrails for how things should be going forward.
The easiest way Dillon can regain his playoff spot? Win again at Daytona this weekend, or the Southern 500 next week at Darlington. He is one of 17 drivers in a must-win situation, and that's not even counting the handful of drivers in the middle of a tight points battle. It will be no simple task, but it is likely easier than getting the Final Appeals Officer to overturn this penalty.
But unlike this entire situation, him winning Daytona wouldn't be unprecedented. Dillon won the regular season finale at Daytona just two years ago, locking himself into the playoffs. He's also a former winner of the Daytona 500, but drivers need friends at superspeedways, and he has few following Richmond.
