NASCAR officials dropped the hammer on Austin Dillon and Richard Childress Racing after Dillon steamrolled his way to a win last Sunday at Richmond (Va.) Raceway.
Dillon kept the victory, however, was denied a NASCAR Cup Series Playoff berth for wrecking Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin in the final two corners.
RCR will appeal the playoff penalty along with the 25 driver and owner points deduction.
Now with a more vivid blueprint of what crosses the line in NASCAR’s eyes, numerous drivers were asked at Michigan Int’l Speedway, the site of this weekend’s Cup Series race, how they felt about the penalties.
Bubba Wallace, who finished fourth at Richmond and is three points above the playoff cutline in 15th following Dillon’s penalty, found a unique perspective after competing in a Legends Car at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway a handful of weeks ago.
“You learn that is not right, and you try to turn over a clean slate, and you try to race with a lot of respect,” Wallace said.
In regard to a fellow competitor he raced with at Charlotte, Wallace said, “I know that homeboy is probably tired of getting talked about, but I got wrecked twice in two weeks in Legend Cars and I told him, ‘Hey, we don’t race like that.
“‘I know that I haven’t been here in five years, but we don’t do that,’ and he’s like, ‘The whole field does that, so learn how to do it.’
“I’m like, ‘Holy s— that is not the right answer.’”
Wallace, however, understands why the next generation of drivers have a more aggressive perspective, due to races they see like Richmond.
“And then you see stuff like that on Sundays,” Wallace said. “I know it’s like – ‘Y’all do it there,’ and you’ve got a point.”
If Wallace was put in Dillon’s situation, the 23XI Racing driver believes he knows his limit.
“From those moments you grow, and you mature, and you know the line, and for me, would I have made that move?
“I would have tried my hardest to get to the 22 (Logano) without spinning him, but then that was it,” Wallace said. “I lost. Throw in the towel, that is it.”
Also on the playoff bubble, Ross Chastain, who’s tied with Chris Buescher for the final playoff spot, believes the “line” of what’s fair and not, is constantly evolving because no situation on the race track is the same.
“Yeah, I think it’s good to remember that the line is not written down,” Chastain said. “There are no words; there’s no pictures and drawings of a line. For some to say that it’s clear, it’s a total body of work. It’s a culmination of decisions that we all make, and we’re all watching each other; watching and listening to the tower and they’re watching and listening to us.
“We’re watching our competitors. I’m going back and watching myself after an event and I continue to evolve. Yeah, it’s not clear, but I am constantly aware of what I feel like everyone is thinking. You just can’t be too far against the grain, is my opinion.”
Buescher on the other hand, had no interest in discussing NASCAR’s ruling of Dillon’s penalty, stating, “I’m in a position to where, no matter what I say on this one, you can come across as being biased.”
“And for my sake, for our team’s sake, it’s probably best for me to not go down that road. I got asked about it during the week and the thing I said was, ‘You know what, I know how we’re racing.
“‘The way that race played out before anything was talked about, any penalties were assessed, I said no, it’s not going to change what we do.’
“Yes, I see that we’re going to be desperate to come into these races and it’s going to produce some wild finishes, but it’s not going to change how we’re going to do this,” Buescher continued. “I know what I want to do when I go to the race track, I know how I want to race, and ultimately for our team, we know what we’re capable of from a speed standpoint and how we’re going to approach them.
“So without diving into any of the details of all of that, again, there’s no way for me to have an opinion on it without having a bias. There are about three of us that there’s no answer that’s the right one in this scenario, right? So we’ll just let it play out the next couple of weeks and then you can ask again. No comment.”