Denny Hamlin standing by his car post-race following the Cookout 400 at Richmond Raceway. (Photo: Jennie Mae Lingle | The Podium Finish)
RICHMOND, Va. — With two laps to go, if you were to tell Denny Hamlin that he would finish second to Austin Dillon, who was the hands-down best car in the final stint of the race, he probably would have been pretty happy.
However, it did not feel that way after finishing second following the chaotic overtime restart and finish of the Cookout 400.
Right after Dillon crossed the start/finish line to make it two laps to go, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. drove way too deep into Turn 1, going up the track and wrecking himself and Ryan Preece to bring out a caution and send the race to overtime.
On the following restart, Dillon, who entered the race sitting 32nd in the points standings and was in must-win territory to qualify for the playoffs, started inside of Joey Logano on the front row.
Logano got a great launch and in the outside lane, cleared Dillon coming out of Turn 2 onto the back straightaway and jumped out to a three-car length lead heading into Turns 3 and 4 on the final lap.
Needing a win, Dillon sent it into Turn 3, bulldozing Logano’s car from behind and spinning the No. 22 out, sending him into the outside wall. However, since Dillon drove it in so hard he had no chance of making the corner and drifted up the track, opening the bottom lane for Hamlin to sneak through and go for the victory headed toward the start/finish line.
Denny Hamlin’s car after getting spun around on the final lap of the Cookout 400 in a chaotic finish. (Photo: Jennie Mae Lingle | The Podium Finish)
In a split-second decision, Dillon got into the right-rear quarter panel of Hamlin’s car, also sending him into the outside wall and narrowly beating Tyler Reddick to the line to win at Richmond.
After doing a burnout on the front straightway Dillon said he didn’t want to make the move but had to do it.
“I hate it, but I had to do it,” said Dillon. “When given that shot, you’ve got to take it.”
Hamlin, obviously frustrated with the move, understood where Dillon was coming from with the “win and you’re in” playoff format, but it did not make him any less upset.
“The problem that I have is I got hooked in the right rear again,” Hamlin said. “I’m just minding my own business, and he (Dillon) turned left, and he hooked me in the right rear and blew my damn shoulder out. I don’t know.”
“He is just not going to go far because you have to pay your dues back on stuff like that, but it is worth it because they jumped 20 positions in points, so I understand all that,” said Hamlin. “There is no ill will there. I get it. I just hate that I was a part of it. It would have been fun if I was not one of the two guys (Logano being the other) that got taken out on the last corner, but I understand it. It doesn’t mean I have to agree with it.”
Denny Hamlin on pit road soaking in the moment after a chaotic finish at Richmond Raceway. (Photo: Jennie Mae Lingle | The Podium Finish)
Hamlin also believes that a line was crossed, but says that there is no set line and right and wrong are undefined.
“Absolutely, a line was crossed, but it is an invisible line, and it is not defined,” Hamlin said. “They have rules and provisions for stuff like this, but they never take action for it.”
“Who am I to throw stones at a glass house, but I’ve certainly never won one that way.”
Following the race, Elton Sawyer, NASCAR’s senior vice president of competition, said that the finish would be reviewed for penalties in the coming day. On Wednesday, the penalty report was released.
Dillon and the No. 3 team were docked 25 driver and owner points and lost playoff eligibility with the Richmond win in both the driver and owner postseason.
The No. 3 team spotter, Brandon Benesch, has been suspended for the next three points-paying races and Logano was fined $50,000 for his actions on pit road post-race.
