Austin Dillon points to conversation he had with Kid Rock for perspective after NASCAR penalty

Add Kid Rock to the list of people Austin Dillon has gotten advice from in the wake of his Cook Out 400 win and subsequent playoff removal by NASCAR for wrecking two other drivers.

Oddly enough, the two reportedly crossed paths at a Professional Bull Riders event.

According to NBC Sports, Kid Rock told Dillon, “I got half the country that hates me and half the country that loves me. It’s going great.”

That was a feeling Austin Dillon could relate to.

The NASCAR driver has been the source of an immense amount of scrutiny, including some that he has celebrated — like being a trending topic on Twitter on Sunday night following the win — in the last week. It’s been a lot to handle.

That’s because he was handed one of the harshest penalties in the sport following the win. It stemmed from his actions on the final lap of the Cook Out 400.

After Joey Logano took the lead off the restart, Austin Dillon realized he was behind by a reasonable margin and needed to try to force something to happen. So he got into Logano’s back bumper and spun him out.

Then, as Dillon got back on track and straightened out, he realized Denny Hamlin was slipping to the inside with the lead. Dillon’s car came down inside and took out Hamlin with a right-rear hook, paving the way to the win at the end.

Dillon touched on his racing at the end on Saturday at Michigan, as well as Logano’s response.

Logano was fined $50,000 for revving his engine down pit road. He also called Austin Dillon a ‘piece of crap’ and his driving ‘chickenshit.’

“For Joey, I’m sorry for the situation that he was in,” Dillon said on a USA broadcast. “It didn’t matter if it was Joey or anybody, I was going to do my best to get my team to victory lane. The situation on pit road after the race, a lot of things were said in the heat of the moment from him about my family and my belief in Christ even. For me, I forgive him for getting frustrated.

“The pit road part with the race car was a lot. … That was kind of out of line, and I think NASCAR took care of it. But I forgive him, and I’m sure he’s still mad at me for what’s going on at the racetrack. But this is a game. In the end, you don’t hate the player, you hate the game.

“That was the situation that I was up against. I’ve learned a lot from Joey and Denny over the years. They don’t have any regrets in what they do on the racetrack. I can’t either and I don’t feel that way.”

So it’s back to the track for Austin Dillon, where he’ll be racing ‘All Summer Long’ to try to re-secure a playoff berth.