Austin Dillon has to keep his side of what happened last week on the final lap at Richmond Raceway to himself for at least a couple of weeks because the penalty against him is pending an appeal.
But the driver of the iconic Richard Childress Racing No. 3 did make a couple of media rounds on Friday to discuss both his headspace and optimism that he has a winning case to override a penalty that stripped him of his playoff berth.
Also Read: NASCAR stars endorse Austin Dillon penalty, establishing a line on egregious decisions One of those interviews came on ESPN in the form of a 12 minute sit down with Marty Smith and Ryan McGee , where Dillon said he hasn’t yet spoken to the drivers he crashed en route to winning the race, Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin.
“No, I haven’t reached out to either one of them yet,” Dillon said . “I think that time will come. We’ll see each other this weekend. Probably end up in the back of the same truck together after qualifying, at some point. It’s just just how it works. But you know, I’ve gone through a lot of this stuff where you text a guy after the event and, you know, tell him your opinion, but their opinions have been stated. And my opinion, I feel like, has somewhat been the same from the very beginning, from my first interview.
“But as time’s gone on, and I’ve got to myself, look at some of the data, it’s been nice to see. You know, I can’t wait — actually, I want to come back on Marty and McGee, when all this appeal stuff is over, to talk about it and give my opinion on what really went down.”
Dillon typically plays in a basketball league with Hamlin and their mutual friends but he didn’t attend this week.
“He didn’t come and I have not spoken to him,” Hamlin said. “I don’t have anything negative to say about this with Austin,” Hamlin said. “I really don’t have anything negative to say about his character. I really stuck up for him earlier this year (on his podcast) when he was going through some pretty tough finishes and things like that, and talking about how I really respected his character, and I still do.
“He just was put in a really tough spot, where you have to make a split-second decision, and he made one that was not in the, in my opinion, best interest of the sport. People make mistakes, and I believe everyone deserves second chances.”
On The USA Network practice and qualifying broadcast, Dillon addressed to a point what Logano after the race — that Dillon is a ‘piece of crap,’ ‘sucks’ and has ‘always sucked,’ and ‘then he’s going to go up there and thank God and praise everything with his baby.’
Dillon wishes Logano hadn’t said that.
“For Joey, I’m sorry for the situation that he was in,” Dillon told Dave Burns after Cup qualifying was canceled by rain. “It didn’t matter if it was Joey or anybody, I was going to do my best to get my team to victory lane. The situation on pit road after the race, a lot of things were said in the heat of the moment from him about my family and my belief in Christ even. For me, I forgive him for getting frustrated.”
Also Read: Why NASCAR penalized Austin Dillon for Richmond finish and what comes next Speaking to NBC Sport’s Dustin Long , Dillon said he flew out with his dad, Mike Dillon, and grandfather Richard Childress to watch their Pro Bull Riders team, the Carolina Cowboys compete, where he came across his friend Kid Rock.
The recording artist shared an anecdote that Austin says he can relate to.
“I’m doing good,” Kid Rock told Dillon. “Half the country loves me and half the country hates me. It’s going great.”
Also Read: Behind the scenes of the most controversial finish to a NASCAR race in a long time Dillon also talked to a scrum of reporters right before the rain shortened practice session and rained out qualifying session.
“I want to get through the appeal process and then I’ll gladly give my point of view about the story as best I can,” Dillon said on pit road.
He expressed confidence about the appeal too.
“I feel pretty good about it,” Dillon said. “Denny has a podcast (episode) about the appeal’s process and lays out pretty well about how the appeal usually works and I think that’s why he was very forthcoming earlier this week about everything because the appeal process isn’t easy.
“But we have people doing a great job on our side about covering our bases and see what the outcome really is.”
Dillon also told Smith and McGee that it was an interesting feeling returning to the Cup garage this week, because he is under a spotlight, and in the absence of immediately friendly relationship, he knows his Richard Childress Racing crew has his back.
“It’s interesting in the garage itself, walking into the motorhome lot, it’s interesting. You know, you’ve got to keep friendships with a lot of people that you compete with each and every weekend, and you try to be the same guy each and every weekend, but in the end, your true friends come with you to the track,” Dillon added . “And that’s one thing I love about RCR. I’ve got 400 employees over there at RCR. They’re foxhole guys, right? They’re going to be in that foxhole at the end of the day for me and our team, and I love that. And that’s what sports are about, man, you ride or die with your boys.
“I feel like our No. 3 team and RCR has got a lot of good stuff going on right now, and I want to keep it very positive when it comes to that. You know, next year is going to be very exciting for us. The rest of this year is going to be very exciting for us. We’ve got great opportunities the next three weeks at Daytona, Michigan, and Darlington. I’ve won at Daytona and finished second at Michigan and Darlington. So, the boys are fired up right now. And we’ve got a lot to prove still.”
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