Austin Dillon would've walked free if "Denny Hamlin hadn't entered the picture" as per Mark Martin'

40x Cup Series winner Mark Martin believes Austin Dillon would not have been penalized if he had not nudged Denny Hamlin at Richmond. Dillon was stripped of his playoff spot on Wednesday, August 14, amid his controversial road to the victory lane on Sunday, August 11.

The Richard Childress Racing driver led the overtime restart but Joey Logano swerved through, moments before the final lap battle ensued. Nonetheless, the former retook the domination on the final corner but in due process, caused a double-wreck. After crashing out Logano, Dillon switched lanes drastically and bumped into Hamlin before securing his playoff berth.

Mark Martin, 65, recently said if the Joe Gibbs Racing driver "hadn't entered the picture," the penalty situation would be in contrast with what the #3 Chevy driver finds himself in. The former NASCAR driver battled across all three NASCAR events during his career and amassed 40 Cup wins, 49 Xfinity Series victories, and seven Truck Series wins.

"He [Austin Dillon] planned to hit the #22 [Logano] and go win the race. It all went wrong once he hit the #22 and wound up catching up Denny. It's a double problem for Austin because he would've gotten by with that if Denny hadn't entered the picture," Martin said via Dirty Mo Media on X (0:24).

While Hamlin and Logano might've had a sigh of relief for Dillon being denied his controversial playoff ticket, RCR is disappointed.

RCR plan to appeal the penalty on Austin Dillon at Richmond

Though Austin Dillon was allowed to keep the controversial win, his and RCR's playoff spot was deemed violative of Section 12.3.2.1.b of the NASCAR Rule Book. The section caters to the playoff eligibility rules and states:

“Race finishes must be unencumbered by violation(s) of the NASCAR Rules or other action(s) detrimental to stock car auto racing or NASCAR as determined in the sole discretion of NASCAR.”

As a result, Dillon and his team were docked 25 points each, as the #3 driver plummed to 31st in the regular season rankings after climbing to 26th because of his Richmond win.

Unhappy with NASCAR's decision, the North Carolina-based outfit expressed displeasure, writing on X:

"Richard Childress Racing is very disappointed in NASCAR’s penalty against the No. 3 team. We do not agree with the decision that was made and plan to appeal.

Austin Dillon snapped his 68-race winless streak after his last triumph came at the 2022 Coke Zero Sugar 400 hosted by the Daytona International Speedway. However, as his playoff spot is taken back, the 34-year-old has to claim another victory to see himself among the top 16 drivers battling for the championship.

And only three races are left for that — the Michigan International Speedway, the DIS, and the Darlington Raceway.