Appeals Panel upholds Austin Dillon's Richmond penalty

The National Motorsports Appeals Panel has issued its ruling on Austin Dillon as the driver sought to have his playoff eligibility restored after NASCAR penalized him for driving detrimental to the sport following the Cook Out 400 at Richmond.

Dillon’s appeal to have his playoff eligibility restored was denied, according to a report by the Associated Press’ Jenna Fryer. NASCAR provided the following explanation:

“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.”

The Appeals Panel did, however, shorten the penalty suspension for spotter Brandon Benesch to just one race, meaning he has already fulfilled his suspension after missing last week’s race at Michigan.

Richard Childress Racing has already noted it will appeal the decision made Wednesday to the Final Appeal Officer.

The decision comes after NASCAR made one of the most high-profile rulings in the history of the sport, stripping Dillon’s playoff eligibility based on how he secured the win at Richmond.

The win was controversial, to say the least.

Austin Dillon looked in good shape to simply cruise to a comfortable win, sporting a three-second lead with only two laps remaining. Then Ricky Stenhouse Jr. got into Ryan Preese and caused a wreck, bringing out a caution flag and sending the Cook Out 400 to overtime.

In overtime, Joey Logano beat out Austin Dillon on the jump, taking the lead. Realizing he probably wasn’t going to have the run to catch up to Logano and pass him, Dillon made intentional contact with Logano’s back bumper and spun him out.

Then, as Dillon got back onto course and straightened out, he realized Denny Hamlin was about to clear him to the bottom side of the track for the lead. Dillon then right-rear hooked Hamlin and sent him into the wall, able to get his own car through the contact and through to the finish line for the win.

Immediately there were questions about the legitimacy of the win and whether NASCAR might strip the win.

But initially, the governing body for the sport simply stripped Austin Dillon’s playoff eligibility based on the win by citing a clause in the rulebook that notes that drivers may not drive in a way that is detrimental to the sport. NASCAR declared the multiple contacts, which were also encouraged by the team’s spotter on the radio, to be detrimental conduct.

It stripped Dillon of playoff eligibility, though he retained the win. Dillon’s spotter was also suspended three races for the radio communications, a sentence later shortened to just one race by the Appeals Panel.

Now, with the Appeals Panel providing a firm ruling, Austin Dillon and his team can move forward knowing what they need to accomplish the rest of the season.