NASCAR Got What They Wanted

Austin Dillon's intentional crashes last night were embarrassing, but seem to be exactly what NASCAR wants.

(I know. This is not an NFL post. I apologize for having to put my limited writing resources into this, and not into Trent Green or into the Jacksonville Jaguars follow up I promised. I will get to those, but for now I need to get something off my chest.)

Sunday night, NASCAR returned from a two week break (their American TV partner NBC left to cover the Olympics), and returned to one of their most boring tracks, Richmond. Richmond never produces fun racing anymore, and (we thought) it was a horrible candidate to come back with, after nobody thinking or talking about NASCAR for two weeks. However, in the end, it got everybody talking.

Predictably, the race was a rather dull affair, but at least the impact of the dullness was lessened by a nice story unfolding towards the finish. Austin Dillon, driving the iconic number 3 RCR (Richard Childress Racing) car, had found his way into the lead, with a solid three second advantage (three seconds is a lot in auto racing) with just two laps to go, looking like he was going to win for sure.

If you’re not a devoted NASCAR fan, you will not understand the inherent sentimentality that will always come with a driver in the #3 car. In NASCAR, the number of the car is the brand. A number on the side of a car is like the logo of a sports team. Much like fans of other sports identify with logos and colours, NASCAR fans identify with numbers and number fonts.

The number three was the number of the legendary Dale Earnhardt, who is perhaps the best driver in stock car racing history, and died in the midst of a NASCAR race in 2001. Already a legend of the sport, his death (much like those of music icons like Jimi Hendrix) ensured that Dale would be remembered forever in the hearts and minds of the NASCAR faithful.

If you’ve never heard the name Dale Earnhardt, imagine LeBron James dropping dead in the middle of an NBA game, and you’ll have captured the impact the death of Dale Earnhardt had on the sport of stock car racing.

Regretfully, unlike in F1 where the drivers own their car numbers, in NASCAR the car number sticks with the owner of the car. That means that when Dale Earnhardt died the iconic car number three did not die with him. Richard Childress (the owner of the aforementioned RCR racing team) promised that the number three would never race in NASCAR again, and for better than a decade he kept his word, with the exception of a single one-off race for Dale’s son, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., which was in good enough taste that everybody allowed Richard to get away with breaking his promise.

It’s okay to bring back the three for a one-off deal for the son of the legend. Fans will accept that, and they did. What they did not accept was Richard bringing the number three back into service full time for the 2014 Cup Series season with the driver being his grandson, Austin Dillon.

It’s already awkward to have your grandson in your racing team, and there will be inevitable accusations of nepotism, but as we’ve seen with Ty Gibbs (grandson of Joe), you can get away with this if you’re good enough. The difference is that Joe Gibbs actually took away an iconic number (the famous Joe Gibbs 18) from his grandson in order to pull some of the pressure off of him.

Richard Childress did the opposite.

Bringing the number three out of retirement in order to bestow it upon Austin Dillon was likely a bad move but a necessary one. In NASCAR, costs are so high that teams must solicit sponsors in order to keep the lights on. Prize money is not enough. Childress would’ve likely had trouble finding sponsorship on a car numbered 29 (the number Childress moved to in the wake of Dale’s death) driven by the no-name rookie that Austin Dillon was at the time, but every brand wants to be associated with the black three car, and so the number was brought out of retirement and put onto the side of an RCR car once again.

If you think bringing a deceased icon’s number out of retirement in order to sell sponsorships so you can afford to put your grandson in your car is a little crass, it is, and it was not lost on anybody. Therefore, in the NASCAR fandom there’s always been a hint of lingering resentment, mostly towards Richard Childress for making this decision, but mildly towards Austin Dillon also for failing to live up to the legendary brand he was handed.

Austin Dillon for most of his career has been what those in auto racing call a back marker. Some call them lappers. Some call them traffic. The point is the same. When you see Austin Dillon on a race track, that generally means you’re at the back of the field. Out of 36 full time drivers in the 2024 season, Austin ranked 32nd going into Richmond. That’s what makes what was happening so special.

Seeing such a bad car near the front is not a very common sight, and is generally looked at positively in NASCAR circles. Who doesn’t love an underdog winner right? It only happens once a year or so to see a true underdog winner, and for it to happen at Richmond (usually a haven for stale sameness) was entirely unexpected.

Now we pick up where we left off. Austin is leading, and there’s two laps to go. He’s so far ahead that nobody will catch him. Fans are loving this outcome. There is some real resentment that still lingers from the fact that this man is driving the three car, but dang it, it’s still the three car. They want to see it win, but this is where NASCAR themselves show up to ruin yet another great story.

A caution comes out on the second to last lap, which according to NASCAR rules means the race must be extended for however long it takes for the cars to be able to run two further green flag laps. The problem is that under caution the cars line up nose to tail, meaning Austin’s sizeable lead is entirely wiped out. This means that instead of the three second lead with two to go that he had earned, he instead has to deal with another car right on his door.

NASCAR made this rule change a number of years ago, and fans over the years have wavered as to whether or not it’s a change they’ve enjoyed. In my opinion, it’s an underrated part of why the sport has declined in popularity so much in recent years. It’s become a common problem for a race to organically build to a finish, only for a late caution to see that finish ruined, and replaced with a two lap dash that is exciting but also feels entirely manufactured.

This endless push to manufacture excitement has been the main driver of NASCAR’s fans away from the sport for the last 20 years, and I think this reached its zenith Sunday night. Just look at this finish.

What a disaster. Let me count the ways.

Right off the restart, Austin is passed as clean as can be by Joey Logano in the 22 car. Not one bit of contact between the two cars. From here, it’s clear that he is going to get away, and he is going to win, and this is what I mean about NASCAR’s finish rules. This is what leaves fans with a bad taste in their mouth. Joey was nowhere near (a quarter of the track behind) Austin with just two laps left to go. He had no right to be anywhere near winning, but because of NASCAR’s arbitrary rules to close the cars up for the finish he is going to be gifted a win at the expense of the beloved #3.

This feeling of disgust knowing that the true winner did not win, but instead somebody snookered a win through a combination of getting lucky and taking advantage of some unfair rules is not something you want to leave your fans with, but NASCAR fans get left with it all the time. Probably once a month at least these days. Nevertheless, under the rules that exist, Joey Logano has earned the win of this race.

Unfortunately, Austin Dillon has other plans, and decides to make no attempt to turn the corner, instead driving straight into the back of the 22 car and putting him in the wall.

This Richmond incident at first glance looks very similar to this one, involving the three car in its original iteration:

This is one of the most famous moments in NASCAR history, and spawned what is likely the legend’s most famous quote in the post-race interview: “I didn’t mean to turn him around. I meant to rattle his cage though.”

The fame of this moment is why NASCAR has adjusted their rules to try to make it happen over and over again, but they can never recreate it, because it’s not the same thing, and now that we’ve seen a similar incident, we can all see clearly that what made people love Dale Earnhardt has not made them love Austin Dillon.

First and foremost, this battle between Dale Earnhardt and Terry Labonte was not the result of some silly rules artificially closing the cars together. The flow of the race dictated that these two cars were right beside each other on the final lap. That means that this incident was the organic finish that the race had been building to. It was not a slap in the face to the organic finish that this Austin Dillon incident was.

Second, Dale Earnhardt was merely paying Terry Labonte back. Unseen in the above clip, Terry has actually run into the back of the three car to create the opening on the low side of the track that he drove through. An eye for an eye in the real world is not the proper way to do things, but this is pro sports not the real world, and NASCAR fans are perfectly okay with payback in kind. What Austin did was not payback. He got passed fairly, and responded by putting his man in the wall.

Third and finally, Austin Dillon is no Dale Earnhardt. This was an extremely bad impersonation. While Dale spun his man out, smoothly drove on, and won the race, Austin could not even wreck another car correctly, as he slowed down so much in doing it that he was passed by Denny Hamlin, and therefore had to intentionally wreck two cars to win one race.

I’ve seen fans trying to defend Austin, saying he simply didn’t know Denny Hamlin (the white car) was below him on the track, or other excuses for how this wreck could’ve somehow been unintentional, but this does not hold water (mind the language in the below video clip).

“He’s coming down. Down! Down! Down! Wreck him!”

Just because people on Austin’s radio were yelling at him to intentionally wreck the 11 car doesn’t make it fact that he intentionally wrecked him (although it is damning evidence), but I believe the following photo does:

On the left, you see two lines. The lighter green one is from a ghost car (way in the front) that shows how cars normally run Richmond. The darker green line shows how Austin decided to run Richmond on this one particular lap, that just so happens to put the white 11 car directly into his path. On the right, look at the ‘steering’ box. One line is a typical lap, and the other is the last lap. Do you see how different they are?

How convenient is that?

To me, these two bits of evidence (the yelling on the radio and the entirely unorthodox way of running the track that just so happened to go directly through the 11 car) definitively prove that this was intentional on Austin’s part. Adding this into the fact that he’d clearly intentionally wrecked the 22 car just seconds beforehand, and Austin Dillon has turned a night that was definitely going to gain him some respect even in a second place finish into a disaster that he’s going to spend the remainder of his career trying to live down.

Even drivers not involved took notice of this. Bubba Wallace (driver of the 23 car) was quoted as saying: “I was ready to go shake his hand and offer congrats. I can’t do that now,” and he was not the only driver to express similar sentiments. Tyler Reddick (driver of the 45 car) said: “I guess I’m glad I wasn’t leading. I would’ve been wrecked and finished in the 20s.”

You know it’s a ludicrous situation when you’ve made a race car driver say the words ‘I’m glad I wasn’t leading.’

Austin Dillon has won the race in Richmond, but at what cost?

To me, this reminds me of the finish of the Cars movie:

Chick Hicks wrecks both leaders, and wins the race, but at a steep price, as all the media attention and all the adulation falls onto Lightning McQueen. The gif above was supposed to be comedic, presenting Chick as a man so over-the-top evil that he’d rather intentionally wreck both of his competitors than lose.

Suddenly, it doesn’t seem so funny anymore.

In sum, NASCAR got what they wanted. They got their exciting finish, but in so doing the sport has undergone yet another credibility hit. One of its biggest brands (the three car) is in disgrace, and drivers are wondering what exactly is going to be done about this.

In the past, NASCAR has set a precedent that if it is clear that you’ve intentionally wrecked somebody, you will get a penalty. Generally, it’s a one race suspension if investigated after the race, or a full lap penalty in the race. Second place finisher Tyler Reddick claimed in interviews to have crossed the finish line thinking that he’d won, assuming NASCAR would penalise Austin for either or both of the two intentional crashes.

Hopefully, this can be a moment that helps them come to their senses, because in 2024 their drivers are a lot less like Dale Earnhardt, and a lot more like Chick Hicks.

Austin had this race won if the rules were fair. That is not up for debate, but under the rules that exist he had lost the race fairly to Joey Logano, and then when he intentionally wrecked Joey Logano he’d lost the race fairly to Denny Hamlin. No penalty has come forth yet, but there’s a real chance that after also intentionally wrecking Denny Hamlin, he’s going to lose this race fairly to Tyler Reddick.

I think he should, because what will happen if he doesn’t?

If NASCAR allows this to slide by unpenalized, that would break the precedent that it’s not okay to intentionally wreck people. It would set a new precedent that it’s okay to intentionally wreck people. It’s okay to put their health and career at risk by putting them in the wall just because you feel like it, and it’s even okay to admit to doing so (‘Wreck him!’). It’s okay to make the whole world look at NASCAR like every driver is Chick Hicks. It’s okay to never have a fair winner of a race ever again, because if Austin gets away with this, why wouldn’t whoever is running second next week? It’s entirely possible that drivers will simply elect to stay in second and put their rivals into the wall on the final lap instead of racing with them, in essence eliminating auto racing from this auto racing series.

NASCAR may not mind all of those connotations, since they seem a lot more interested in being WWE on wheels these days, but I mind them, because who wants to be a fan of that?

It’s embarrassing to go on Twitter and see the reactions this Richmond race got. It’s embarrassing to look and see that people are openly gloating about how they are not NASCAR fans anymore, and therefore have the right to laugh at this sport humiliating itself even more than it already has. This played into the worst stereotype of NASCAR being a nothing more than a bunch of rednecks running around in circles playing bumper cars.

Normally, I construe those negative stereotypes as an insult. I am a big fan of NASCAR. Growing up, it was my second favourite sport. I grew up in Canada, and it was above ice hockey on my priority list. That’s how much I love NASCAR.

I’m not a redneck. I’m not even American, but on this Monday night, writing about a race that occurred yesterday on Sunday night, I have nothing to say to that stereotype, because that was nothing more than bumper cars, and it’s embarrassing.

This is a great sport. I don’t want to be embarrassed to be a fan.

So please NASCAR, take this step. Penalize Austin Dillon. You cannot let this win stand, because what does it say about this sport if you do?

Thanks so much for reading.