“We have no real officiating”: Denny Hamlin slams NASCAR, promises payback to Austin Dillon in post-race comments at Richmond

Denny Hamlin. Credit: Getty Images. Austin Dillion ramming Joey Logano. Courtesy: NASCAR on X.
Denny Hamlin. Credit: Getty Images. Austin Dillion ramming Joey Logano. Courtesy: NASCAR on X.

Denny Hamlin, in his post-race interview at Richmond Raceway, slammed NASCAR on their inability to 'officiate' races. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver stated that the sport is not going to be taken seriously after the governing body decided not to take any action against Austin Dillon.

Dillon claimed his first win of the season at Richmond after he slammed Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin on the way to the Checkered Flag. This jeopardized the former's race, while the latter finished in second place.

Notably, Dillon's action during the Overtime on Logano was not taken seriously and despite a huge uproar, NASCAR decided to hand over the win to the RCR driver. This left Hamlin unimpressed as he called NASCAR out.

"Where's the line Bob? I mean that's the thing is we have rules against you know to prevent ridiculous acts. But you know it's been long time since those rules really have been enforced," Hamlin said in an interview with Bob Pockrass on X. (0:01-0:24)
"He'll have to pay repercussions down the line for this and you know but it's so worth it from his standpoint, because there's no guardrails or rules that say don't do that. And there's no one in the tower that has any problem with it. So we're never ever gonna get taken seriously as a sport because we have no real officiating." (1:00-1:27)

Before the Cookout 400 race at Richmond, the RCR driver was in 32nd place, and miles away from the playoffs cutline. Thanks to the victory, Austin Dillon can see himself in the playoffs this season.


Joey Logano lambasted Austin Dillon over Richmond incident

Joey Logano (22) and NASCAR Cup Series driver Austin Dillion (3) restart the race for overtime during the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports. Source: Imagn
Joey Logano (22) and NASCAR Cup Series driver Austin Dillion (3) restart the race for overtime during the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports. Source: Imagn

As the Cookout 400 went into overtime, Joey Logano and Austin Dillon came side-by-side waiting for the pace car to disappear. As soon as it happened, Logano put the pedal to the metal and sped past Dillon to find a car's length within a lap.

Austin Dillon, who led the second half of the race, saw his race win disappear in front of his eyes, and as a result, decided to wreck the Team Penske driver from behind and clear his way.

"He just pulls a chicken sh*t meal, He’s a piece of crap. He sucks. He’s sucked his whole career,” said Logano after the race. "And now, he's gonna be in the playoffs and good for him, I guess."

This was Richard Childress Racing's first win of the season amid their star driver Kyle Busch's disastrous season. With this, RCR became the fourth team to have one victory each after Trackhouse Racing, RFK Racing, and 23XI Racing.

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Edited by Vaishnavi Iyer