Richard Childress addresses “wreck him” message on Austin Dillon’s radio in controversial Richmond win

Richard Childress has given his take on Austin Dillon's controversial win at the Richmond Raceway. The team owner was asked about the #3 Chevy driver's spotter, Brandon Benesch's "wreck him" input during the final lap. While Childress refrained from accepting anything of that sort, he praised the spotter later.

NASCAR's 23rd Cup Series weekend was going Dillon's way as he led the pack during the first overtime restart on Lap 407. However, before the high-octane cars entered the final lap, Joey Logano took the charge and led until the final corner.

However, the Richard Childress Racing driver charged hard for the win and wrecked out the Team Penske driver in the due process. He bumped into Denny Hamlin too, but the Joe Gibbs Racing driver saved himself from the misery and finished second.

Shortly after Austin Dillon rode to the victory lane, his radio communication with the spotter surfaced wherein the latter yelled “Wreck him (Logano)." During the post-race presser, Childress was asked to share his views on the conversation.

"I don't think anybody, I never heard it on our radio unless somebody was making it up, I didn't hear it. Not on our number 1 channel number two channel, no one said that. And if you believe in everything you hear on the internet, I'm not Santa Claus if it ever comes up," he replied via Noah Lewis on X.

But after rejecting the notion thrice, the team owner conceded that if Austin Dillon was told to "wreck" Logano, the spotter did a "good job" as it got them a race win (via Kelly Crandall on X).

So far, no penalty has been announced but Elton Sawyer hasn’t ruled out the possibility, and Austin Dillon could be slapped with a punishment on Tuesday.

Austin Dillon sheds light on the fairness of his maiden Cup Series win- "I hate to do that"

The RCR driver had a poor footing into the current season where he struggled with the team's subpar strategies. Furthermore, his teammate, Kyle Busch, suffered from the same issue, as he wasn't provided with fixed personnel for the first six or seven race weekends.

Austin Dillon last drove to the victory lane in 2022 at the Daytona International Speedway and since then, he eyed to fill the race win void. Moreover, with three top-10s this season and no top-5, the #3 Chevy driver was out of the Playoff Picture, let alone be near the cutline.

However, the breakthrough moment came during the first overtime when he was a lap away from triumphing at the 0.750-mile oval. But Joey Logano was there to disappoint the former and inched closer to his second win this season. Nonetheless, Dillon wrecked the #22 Ford, and the #11 Toyota, and secured the victory.

When asked if his move was fair, the RCR driver replied (via NASCAR).

"I don't know man, it's been two years [since he won a race], and it's the first car I've had with a shot to win. I felt like with two [laps] to go, we were the fastest car obviously at the straightway and wrecked the guy. I hate to do that but sometimes you just got to have it."

Austin Dillon has punched his ticket to the playoffs, while Busch struggles to make it through.