Austin Dillon "will keep the win" despite the looming penalty scare as per NASCAR insider

Jeff Gluck believes that Austin Dillon's Richmond win won't come under jeopardy even if NASCAR slaps him with a post-race penalty. The #3 Chevy driver wrecked out Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin to clinch the 2024 playoff berth.

Compared to his poor footing throughout the 2024 season, Dillon had a strong pace from the beginning of the 408-lap dash. After starting sixth, he placed his car in seventh and fifth in Stages 1 and 2, respectively. Moreover, after swooping past Hamlin on Lap 333, the Richard Childress Racing driver kept himself among the frontrunners and was looking at a promising finish.

Dillon led the overtime restart on Lap 407 but before he could take the white flag as the leader, Joey Logano overtook the former and took charge of the pack. Nonetheless, the 34-year-old retook the lead but that cost the Team Penske driver.

While Dillon charged closely behind Logano, he got input from his spotter, Brandon Benesch, to "wreck him." As a result, he did, and it violently spun the #22 Ford into the wall. The #3 Chevy then sidelined Hamlin, sending the Joe Gibbs Racing driver's car for a door slam into the outside wall.

NASCAR's Senior VP of Competition, Elton Sawyer opined on the chaotic finish. He said they'll look at "all the available resources" to determine a penalty, which, if applicable, would be handed on Tuesday.

Jeff Gluck gave his take on the situation and highlighted that despite a potential penalty, Dillon would not be stripped of his Richmond win and would be among the top 16 drivers in the playoffs.

“I believe they said the finish is under review, and then they said Austin Dillon is the race winner. Therefore, there was no penalty, there was no rough driving penalty, therefore he keeps the win. No matter what happens going forward, I think if I’m not mistaken, Austin Dillon will keep the win," Gluck said via Dirty Mo Media on YouTube (7:46).

"They could come out on Tuesday and have some sort of a penalty, but the win is not in question,” he added.

Austin Dillon gives his take on the "wreck him" final lap radio input received from the spotter

Shortly after Benesch's call to wreck Joey Logano became known to the paddock, Richard Childress was asked about the same during the post-race presser. The team owner outrightly denied anything about intentionally wrecking the Team Penske driver but later praised the spotter because it ultimately got them a win.

On the other hand, Austin Dillon wasn't focused on the spotter's command but on being the first to steer across the start/finish line. He suffered from a two-year winless drought since his last victory at the 2022 Daytona International Speedway race and eyed to secure his 2024 playoff spot.

“I’m just looking at the start/finish line. That’s it. I ain’t hearing [expletive] at that point, you know? Your eyes turn red. You see red, you get to the end of the race," Dillon said via NASCAR.

“Daytona, last lap when I won there at the 500, your eyes see red. There’s one thing on your mind: get to the start/finish line first, period. No matter if anybody came on the radio, it doesn’t matter. Like, you have one job to do, it’s to get to the start/finish line first," the Richmond race winner added.

With Austin Dillon's win taking another playoff spot, three drivers above the cutline remain winless- Martin Truex Jr., Ty Gibbs, and Bubba Wallace.