Dale Earnhardt Jr. rips NASCAR over Denny Hamlin, Austin Dillon controversy at Richmond

Dale Earnhardt Jr. not only believes that Austin Dillon crossed a line by right rear hooking Denny Hamlin on the final lap of this past Sunday’s race at Richmond, but he thinks NASCAR missed an opportunity not defining what is unacceptable immediately following the race.

Earnhardt, speaking on his “Dale Jr. Download” podcast, believes by NASCAR not making a ruling on Dillon’s controversial race-winning move in the moment, it makes it “harder for them to demand higher expectations going forward.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. opines on controversy at Richmond

“I think that he didn’t care what happened to the 11,” Earnhardt said. “… It definitely crossed a line. It’s a missed opportunity maybe for NASCAR to react in the moment. NASCAR was probably hesitant to react because what are the dominoes and ramifications? What are the negative things? If they say, ‘This isn’t official. Nope, you’re disqualified. The winner is the 45 [Tyler Reddick] or in this case Denny.’ Now, in the moment, fans might’ve been like, ‘OK, acceptable.’

“What are the long-term ramifications of that or in the next moment when somebody gets slid up the track? The code of drivers is not written, it’s not in black and white for you to read. It’s just, ‘Hey man, treat me with respect.’ NASCAR likes to make rules that they can tangibly hold and feel. And so, where would you stop at what’s legal and what’s not legal in those moments is the hard part I think for NASCAR.

“But I believe that this was a missed opportunity for them. This was definitely more than enough. I think they definitely had an opportunity to define what is unacceptable. And I don’t know if you take the win away. I don’t know. You could take his playoff eligibility away. You get the win, but you don’t go lock in [to the playoffs]. … If they did miss an opportunity to define what is unacceptable live in the moment, more toothpaste is out of the tube. Now it is harder for them to demand higher expectations going forward.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. concerned about lack of authoritarian figure in NASCAR garage

Rather than make a decision in the moment, NASCAR allowed Dillon’s win to stand. As of now, Dillon is playoff bound after entering the race 32nd in the points standings. Now, that could change as NASCAR will announce Wednesday any penalties stemming from the on-track incident.

Earnhardt, however, isn’t convinced that a decision made three days later is going to help prevent these types of racing incidents in the future. Earnhardt doesn’t see the authoritarian figure within the sport that’s going to keep drivers in line, which he feels is a huge problem.

“When these things would happen in the past, [former NASCAR president] Mike Helton would stand up in the next drivers meeting in the next week and say a few words. Now, he was convincing. He was a convincing dude,” Earnhardt said. “They don’t really have that guy anymore. I don’t know that there’s an authoritarian figure in the garage that the drivers, when he speaks to drivers they go, ‘Yes sir, you bet, you got it, man.’ That’s the way Helton was. Nobody messed with that guy. Now it is holding hands, the drivers are coddled. NASCAR doesn’t really hammer in these moments.

“And so, I worry I guess that when we go to the next drivers meeting, the drivers won’t be corralled. Even if somebody does say, ‘Guys, we gotta tone it down.’ I don’t feel like the drivers [will listen], ‘Whatever, I saw what happened last week.’ That’s why I wish something would have been done live in the moment because I don’t think there is enough influence. And a way to influence the drivers after the fact like there used to be back in the day.”