“Could you imagine if that was Chase Elliott?”: NASCAR insiders give their take on criticism against Austin Dillon post Richmond

Chase Elliott (L), Austin Dillon (R)
Austin Dillon, Chase Elliott (inset) (Images: All from Getty)

Following Austin Dillon wrecking Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin on his way to win at Richmond, NASCAR spotters Brett Griffin and Freddie Kraft shared their takes. The Richard Childress Racing driver became the cause of a major controversy given the fact that he wrecked two of the biggest names in the sport and escaped without a penalty.

Both the star drivers Hamlin and Logano are evidently two of the most unliked drivers in the sport. This was an aspect of the incident that Griffin touched on during a recent episode of the "Door Bumper Clear" podcast.

"The three biggest heels in our sport, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano. Kyle Busch has gone somewhat quiet. They're arrogant a**holes. They wreck a lot of people to win. How many times has Denny used people up to win? How many times has Joey Logano used people up to win? Listen, I like both these guys personally. They're both good dudes. But he wrecked two biggest a**holes in the sport," Griffin said.

Following Griffin's comments, fellow spotter Kraft proposed an alternate hypothetical version of Dillon wrecking big name drivers.

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But instead of it being Logano or Hamlin, the spotter wondered about the reaction from the fans had it been Chase Elliott, who is considered to be one of the sport's most popular drivers.

"Could you imagine if that was Chase Elliott? If either one of them, if Joey... they about burned Martinsville down," Kraft said.

Speaking further about this, Brett Griffin claimed that if one wants to be mad or direct one's anger toward somebody, one should do it against the basic NASCAR format itself.

"The rule is, win and you're in. Austin Dillon is 32nd in points. He hasn't won in 2 years. People are talking about he should quit. He's in the playoffs. He's in the All-Star race. You just bumped yourself upto 16th in points," Griffin added.

Freddie Kraft also shared his take on Austin Dillon's one-two blow to Hamlin and Logano on his way to pick up his first NASCAR win in two years.


Freddie Kraft on Austin Dillon wrecking two cars on his way to a win - "One of the most egregious things"

Austin Dillon - AUTO: JUN 23 NASCAR Cup Series USA Today 301 - Source: Getty
Austin Dillon - AUTO: JUN 23 NASCAR Cup Series USA Today 301 - Source: Getty

During the aformentioned podcast, Freddie Kraft said:

"This is one of the most egregious things I've seen in a long time."

Spotter TJ Majors then claimed that what Austin Dillon did was "right on the line," something NASCAR's Elton Sawyer also remarked after Richmond. However, Kraft found that idea amusing as he said:

"What do you mean it's right on the line... where is the line? What's worse than that? What, you're gonna shoot somebody?"

The spotter further shared his sympathies for Elton Sawyer, the Vice President of Competition in NASCAR, who, according to Kraft, regardless of what he said or decides to do, would face backlash.

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Edited by Aayush Kapoor
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