Dale Earnhardt Jr. on NASCAR's Austin Dillon decision: 'The line isn't any more defined after this ruling'

Dale Earnhardt Jr. shared his reaction to NASCAR’s decision to take Austin Dillon‘s playoff spot away after wrecking Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano at Richmond. On Dale Jr. Download, Earnhardt said he was fine with the decision and gave his thoughts on if Dillon crossed the line.

“It’s not defined, it’s not anymore defined today, it’s any more defined after this ruling,” Earnhardt said. “I think drivers all have a different interpretation of what a block is, what a clear move is, what a bad move is, what dirty driving is, how much dirty driving is too much dirty driving. Everybody has a different interpretation just like the league itself in the booth. Each race director has a different interpretation of what he’s seeing on the racetrack. And when he sees a driver do something incorrectly or against the rules, they all may view it and rule differently, depending on the Truck Series, the Xfinity Series and the Cup Series.

“All of this is kind of a big gray area and NASCAR I think a lot of people’s eyes needed to come in and be the big brother or kind of come in and settle things down and make a decision that would restore a bit of order and understanding that yeah we can’t have this every single race. You can’t allow this kind of go unchecked if you will.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. shares more on NASCAR’s big decision on Austin Dillon

Earnhardt went on to talk about the impact the decision has on Dillons’s team Richard Childress Racing (RCR). “We’ve all been very critical of RCR this year. It’s been a very difficult year for them,” Earnhardt said. I think they’re taking that more and more personally with a chip on their shoulders. None of us want to see that affect that company in a very bad way or cause them irreparable harm, but I feel like NASCAR felt like they had to step in here and make this decision and I think the sport will move forward in a good direction.

In a tweet, RCR said it is “very disappointed in NASCAR’s penalty against the No. 3 team. We do not agree with the decision that was made and plan to appeal.” Dillon was looking to reach the playoffs for the second time in three seasons. Hamlin and Logano sounded off on Dillon for wrecking them, and Logano was fined $50,000 by NASCAR for doing a burnout on pit road while family members were in the area.