After weeks of penalties and appeals, the Austin Dillon saga finally appears to be in the rearview mirror.
Earlier this month, NASCAR penalized the veteran driver for his late-race aggression at Richmond Raceway, where he spun out Joey Logano and right-hooked Denny Hamlin on the final lap to win the Cook Out 400.
That win should have clinched Dillon’s spot in the postseason, but NASCAR revoked that automatic berth and suspended his spotter for three races, too. While that suspension was shortened upon appeal, the No. 3 team appealed once more to try to get back into the postseason.
Austin Dillon’s final appeal denied by NASCAR
After NASCAR denied Dillon’s initial appeal to restore his playoff status, he took the fight one step further to the Final Appeals Officer – a move largely seen as a Hail Mary effort by Richard Childress Racing to cling to an unlikely postseason berth.
Sure enough, Bill Mullis heard the case on Monday and unsurprisingly rejected the appeal by the No. 3 team, saying the data made clear that Dillon broke the rules with his reckless finish at Richmond.
READ MORE: NASCAR president says Austin Dillon ‘crossed the line’ at Richmond: ‘We’re not demolition derby’
Mullis cited a violation of Rule 12.3.2.1.B that “race finishes must be unencumbered by violations of the NASCAR rules or other actions detrimental to stock car auto racing” as determined in the “sole discretion of NASCAR.”
In its initial rejection of Dillon’s appeal, NASCAR claimed that Dillon violated the sport’s “code of conduct” with his actions at Richmond, as did spotter Brandon Benesch.
As a result, the No. 3 team was docked 25 points in the standings in addition to losing the automatic playoff berth that usually comes with a win.
READ MORE: Elton Sawyer explains why Austin Dillon kept his controversial NASCAR win after playoff exclusion
One last shot for Dillon’s playoff hopes
Dillon still gets to keep his win at Richmond – albeit with an asterisk in the minds of fans – but he’ll need to win Sunday’s Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway to reclaim a spot in the postseason.
In 16 career races at Darlington, Dillon has zero wins and hasn’t even led a single lap. His best finish came in 2020, when he came in second, though he’s finished outside the top 15 in his last four races at NASCAR’s toughest track.
READ MORE: NASCAR penalizes Denny Hamlin for ‘grievous mistake’ in major blow to title hopes