Denny Hamlin refuses to deem Austin Dillon incident as a matter of circumstance

Denny Hamlin doesn't think Austin Dillon making contact with him at Richmond was a racing incident. After being wrecked out by Dillon at Richmond, Hamlin was asked whether the RCR driver's on-track action was a matter of chance.

However, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver ruled out such a possibility:

"No, because Austin (Dillon) made a left-hand turn. After he made contact with the #22 (Joey Logano), he made a left hand turn to correct his course, straightened his course, and then turned left again, so there was two. If you can read the graph, there is a big left, straight, big left again." [00:57]

When asked about his opinion on what Dillon was trying to do, Denny Hamlin said that the #3 driver was trying to make contact. Hamlin revealed he wasn't able to see him because he had "a big right-side headrest", but he could make that Dillon was coming down.

The #11 driver mentioned that Dillon was also able to see him because of the visibility through his window net.

"You can see when a car is passing you. More than likely, when he is getting told to come down, he is doing what he is told and then when he sees me, he’s probably just trying to make contact, but at that point, I nearly had him cleared. The right rear is just a vulnerable spot and can put you in a bad wreck position," Denny Hamlin added.

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Austin Dillon has no regrets over Richmond incident with Denny Hamlin & Joey Logano

Speaking on Saturday ahead of Michigan, Austin Dillon reflected on his incidents with two of the biggest drivers in the garage. As per Autosport, Dillon apologized to Logano for putting him in the situation he did.

The RCR driver said that regardless of it being Logano or anyone else, he wanted to put his team in the victory lane, so he was "going to do my best" to achieve that target.

However, Dillon also condemned Logano's actions after the race on the pit road as well as in his post-race interview. But for that, Dillon claimed he forgave Logano for getting frustrated.

Elaborating further on last Sunday's late-race incidents that won him the race, Austin Dillon remarked on Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano's pasts as racecar drivers.

"I've learned a lot from Denny and Joey over the years. They don't have any regrets (over) what they do on the race track, and I can't either.

"I don't feel that way. I'm not going to say I regret anything because I didn't. I went to sleep and felt really good about everything I had to do for me and my team," Dillon added.

Regardless of Austin Dillon having regrets or not, NASCAR handed him a penalty for his actions on the track, as they found him guilty for the incident. Dillon kept the win but was stripped of his playoff eligibility.

Joey Logano too was penalized for his actions on the pit road and was fined $50,000.