For a lot of Sunday night, NASCAR onlookers have been possible texting with one another and it went one thing like this …“Are you able to consider Austin Dillon?”

That’s as a result of Dillon, barely an afterthought for 2 seasons now, wasn’t simply aggressive at Richmond, however was in or close to the lead because the laps started winding down. 

By night time’s finish, the texts amongst NASCAR mates went one thing like this …

“Are you able to consider Austin Dillon?”

Identical textual content, maybe simply minutes aside, however with solely totally different meanings.

GREAT AMERICAN BOOKRejoice a fast-paced historical past of the Daytona 500 with new e book; foreword by Richard Petty

Let’s undergo the gears to look at this hullabaloo, determine what it does to the large image, and ultimately play a bit catch-up on what we would’ve missed throughout that two-week Olympic shutdown.

VOTENASCAR POLL: Was Austin Dillon’s ‘successful transfer’ OK or nearer to what Joey Logano stated?

First Gear: Denny Hamlin had a present snapped away too

“Believable deniability” is what the politicians name it. Regardless of how clearly underhanded the deed, insert some stage of justification, and even some stage of ignorance of the regulation, to at the least get your supporters to stay by your facet, nevertheless a lot they could be rolling their eyes.

Austin Dillon not solely supplied nothing believable Sunday night time, he didn’t even try to deny. He carried a ton of pace into Flip 3 of the ultimate lap, whereas making an attempt to catch chief Joey Logano, basically realizing the eventual consequence.

Bye-bye Joey, up the observe towards the surface fence. Solely drawback was, the punt additionally dramatically slowed Dillon’s roll, and third-place Denny Hamlin was now zipping by on the within for the win. 

Till, guess who, Dillon once more, this time darting to his left simply in time to catch Hamlin’s right-rear nook, spinning the No. 11 Toyota and permitting Dillon to motor his No. 3 Chevy to the checkers. 

If this was rasslin’, a comparability many people wish to make, this was Dillon throwing the referee out of the ring, hitting his opponent over the top with a chair, and throwing himself throughout the opponent’s chest for the three-count.

After which providing little regret.

“I don’t know man, it’s been two years and that is the primary automobile I’ve had a shot to win with,” he advised the postrace viewers. “Wrecked the man. I hate to do this, however generally you simply gotta do it.”

That’s racin’? That’s debatable, as you’ll see beneath.

Second Gear: Joey Logano says do not confuse BS with CS

How sizzling was Logano? Drivers are well-known for airing grievances in a moderately private approach after such issues. So we anticipated as a lot from Joey, and we obtained as a lot from Joey, however proper about now we should always strive educating the plenty in regards to the technicalities of all of it.

First, Joey’s response: “I beat him honest and sq. on the restart and he simply pulls a rooster$#!+ transfer.”

You see, out right here in the true world and never contained in the think-tanks and cocktails events, there’s an actual distinction between BS and CS. BS, after all, comes from a bull, whereas CS comes from a rooster.

Conniving in a way to defeat somebody can rightly be labeled BS. What Dillon did, which didn’t require any plotting or, frankly, a lot technical talent — simply flagrant flailing, in a approach — is what we name CS.

After all, Joey adopted one other long-held racing custom and made it private.

“He sucks, he is sucked his entire profession and now he is gonna be within the playoffs, and good for him.”

Hamlin, Sufferer No. 2 on this affair, leaned extra towards the voice of cause, calling the road Dillon crossed an invisible boundary. No less than within the method these items are policed by NASCAR.

“We’re by no means going to be taken critically as a sport as a result of we now have no actual officiating,” Hamlin stated. 

Nicely, we’ll see. NASCAR reserves the best to review these items additional, and we’ll hear from them Tuesday. The guess right here is, a penalty of some kind will come for Dillon, however the win will stick and so will his playoff ticket.

However as for the instant non-reaction Sunday from the Boys within the Sales space, NASCAR’s competitors chief Elton Sawyer appeared to counsel Dillon’s transfer didn’t precisely cross the odor check with flying colours.

“It occurred quick,” Sawyer stated. “However I might say, in the event you take a look at that, in my opinion that’s getting proper up actually near crossing the road.”

Third Gear: That is Bubba Wallace death-gripping a playoff ticket

Let’s see how the playoff image appears to be like now that the mud has cleared … oh, wait, first let’s revisit the scene simply to remind everybody how the stage was set for Dillon’s mayhem.

With two laps left, Dillon had led 32 of the earlier 65 laps and was comfortably forward by 3+ seconds, cruising to victory, when the night time’s first accident struck on Lap 399. This will get brushed away by all that adopted, however Ryan Preece got here down throughout the nostril of Ricky Stenhouse’s automobile as they ready to enter Flip 1. 

Both that or Stenhouse gave Preece no room and jammed his left-rear to begin the wreck.

Whichever, it wasn’t a superb look. No mirror? No spotter? No grip? How does that occur? 

Anyway, with Dillon’s win, we now have 13 drivers with a regular-season win and the automated playoff entry that comes with it. Three races stay, and theoretically three different new 2024 winners might fill out the playoff area with 16 winners.

Gained’t occur, most probably, and as many as three drivers will make the playoffs on factors. Proper now these three are Martin Truex Jr., Ty Gibbs and Bubba Wallace, who’s simply three factors forward of Ross Chastain and Chris Buescher — Chastain and Buescher are approach, approach forward of the remainder, so there’s your factors race, proper there.

Nonetheless, together with Michigan and Darlington over the following three weeks, there’s Daytona, the place anybody can win and what we might’ve thought was the one hope for somebody like Dillon. 

Fourth Gear: New date for the Daytona 500?

Possibly you fully tuned out over the previous two weeks whereas NBC was overlaying Snoop Dogg and mixing in some Olympic competitors. Right here’s a fast rundown of some headlines that may’ve slipped by way of the cracks on you:

∎ Connor Zilisch, who simply turned 18 and may’t cease successful in any respect ranges and in all types of racing, signed a deal to drive for Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Xfinity Sequence crew subsequent 12 months.

∎ Bristol Motor Speedway will filter out its infield subsequent summer time, lay out a ballfield and host an MLB sport between the Braves and Reds — Aug. 2 is the date. They’ve executed soccer there, so it’s not a completely new idea. 

∎ Daniel Suarez and Trackhouse Racing agreed to a contract extension.

∎ The 2025 NASCAR schedule continues to be a piece in progress, however rumors about Montreal, Mexico Metropolis, or possibly each are nonetheless on the market.

∎ The NFL is formally chatting with the Gamers Affiliation about including and 18th sport to the schedule and pushing the Tremendous Bowl again one week, to President’s Day Weekend. That may give partiers the Monday vacation to totally get better. It will additionally put the Tremendous Bowl on the identical Sunday as stock-car racing’s Tremendous Bowl, the Daytona 500. Besides the five hundred would change dates, because it has earlier than for different causes.

∎ Tyler Reddick and Alexa DeLeon obtained married.

∎ Spire Motorsports and Corey LaJoie obtained divorced, efficient at 12 months’s finish.