Joey Logano Furious at Austin Dillon Over Controversial NASCAR Finish

Austin Dillon clinched a spot in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, but controversy on the method of the Richard Childress Racing driver’s win clouded the result at Richmond Raceway on Sunday.

The checkered flag waved during the final lap of NASCAR Overtime with Joey Logano in the lead. Dillon hit the Team Penske driver’s rear bumper to send him crashing into the barrier. Dillon immediately moved low and hit Denny Hamlin, sending the Joe Gibbs Racing driver aside. The RCR driver claimed his first win in the Cup Series in two seasons.

“I don’t know, man, It’s been two years and this is the first car I’ve had a shot to win with,” Dillon told reporters when asked about his move on the final lap, per NASCAR. “I felt like with two to go, we were the fastest car. Obviously, we had to have a straightaway. Wrecked the guy. I hate to do that, but sometimes you just got to do it. I got to thank the good Lord above. It’s been tough for the last two years, man. I care about RCR, these fans, my wife. This is my first (win) for my baby girl. It means a lot. I hate it, but I had to do it. When given that shot, you’ve got to take it.”

Logano, who clinched a playoff spot in June at Nashville Superspeedway, was not as joyous as Dillon after the race. His crew chief Paul Wolfe told reporters that it would be a “joke” to call what happened Sunday “racing,” but the Team Penske driver went further than that.

“It was chicken (expletive) — there’s no doubt about it,” Logano told reporters, per NASCAR. “He was four car-lengths back, not even close. Then he wrecks the 11 (Hamlin) to go along with it. I mean, I get it, bump and run. I’ve done that, but he just drove through me. It’s ridiculous.”

Hamlin after the race called Dillon’s move a “foul,” but according to NASCAR, the result will stand. Fans will keep an eye out next Sunday at Michigan International Speedway to see if there will be retaliation over how the RCR driver won.