“How do you make that rule?”: Austin Dillon’s penalty posing a dilemma for NASCAR as per Jeff Burton

NASCAR: Brickyard 400 Qualifying - Source: Imagn
Austin Dillon of Richard Childress Racing (Source: Imagn)

Jeff Burton has commented on Austin Dillon's recent penalty following the Cook Out 400 at Richmond. NASCAR penalized the Richard Childress Racing driver and stripped him of his playoff sopportunity three days after his victory at Richmond Raceway. This caused upheaval within the sport, and Burton has asked NASCAR to put some rules in place to avoid such confusion in the future.

NASCAR penalized Austin Dillon, his spotter Brandan Benesch, Richard Childress Racing, and Joey Logano on Wednesday. As for RCR, the governing body nullified Dillion's automatic progression to the playoffs following his race win.

They also put a three-race suspension on Benesch, Dillion's spotter, after he was heard ordering the #3 driver to wreck Joey Logano during the last lap of the race in overtime. In addition, NASCAR also deducted 25 driver and owner points from the race.

The decision that arrived a day late instead of Tuesday left fans and experts in a frenzy. They shared a mixed reaction to the decision and called NASCAR out to have more transparency about the rules. One such expert was Burton, a former NASCAR driver.

"I think giving them (drivers) a border, and some guidelines is actually better for everybody," Burton told NASCAR on NBC. "But unfortunately, there are times that the only way you know if you crossed a line is if you see it and you're like, 'okay that crossed a line.' Because how do you make a rule for that?"
"How do you write a rule that says, 'Hey if you go in the corner, you hit a guy on purpose from four car lengths back or two car lengths back, he spins, and then you make contact with another car and he makes contact and you win the race, you're not gonna win.' I mean, how do you make that rule? So it's always going to be a bit of a judgment call."

Dillion's disqualification from the playoffs means that four sports are still left for drivers to occupy, but they have only three races in Michigan, Daytona, and Darlington to do it.


Alongside Austin Dillon, NASCAR penalized Joey Logano for breaching safety rules

Joey Logano (22) and Austin Dillon (3) restart the race for overtime during the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway (Image Source: Imagn)
Joey Logano (22) and Austin Dillon (3) restart the race for overtime during the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway (Image Source: Imagn)

NASCAR sanctioned a $50,000 penalty on Joey Logano after the Team Penske driver breached NASCAR's Member Code of Conduct on the pit road at Richmond Raceway.

Following the conclusion of the race, Logano arrived in front of the RCR garage and tried out a mini burnout to show his frustration. NASCAR immediately noted his actions and penalized him three days later.

Austin Dillon right-hooked Joey Logano in the ultimate lap of the Cook Out 400 and sent him spinning. While Dillion went on to take the victory, this jeopardized Logano's chances of taking his second NASCAR Cup Series win in 2024.

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Edited by Tushar Bahl