Austin Dillon, Erik Jones resigns with Legacy, AJ Allmendinger and more
Opinion By Roy J. Akers- www.skyviewsports.net
The post-Olympic break turned its attention to Richmond last weekend and a race that appeared to be won with two laps to go. had a caution and all hades broke out on the final restart. Unless you are one of no one in NASCAR world who either did not watch the race or see the highlights (look above), it created a bunch of controversy. We begin with the take below the headline.
Opinion: Austin Dillon
NASCAR has always had rough racing. Dale Earnhardt made it his shingle as he used rough racing card to intimidate other professional drivers on his way to arguably being the GOAT as a seven time NASCAR champion. Guess who his business partner was? Austin Dillon’s grandfather and owner of Richard Childress racing and Austins grandpa. If it was not for the late race wreck with two laps to go, Dillon would have been the surprise winner at Richmond and would have qualified for the playoffs. The restart saw Joey Logano take command with two laps left and Dillon chasing and closing on Logano in turn three with a half mile to go. Looking at the video again and again, he had no chance of passing Logano with a legal bump and run and chose to turn Logano’s car causing a crash by the 22. Dillon then pulled a similar maneuver to Denny Hamlin, (he was third on the restart) and crashed him and went on to become the race winner.
Opinion: The Bottom Line on Dillon’s finish
While technically legal, Dillon’s actions were over the line and he wrecked his competitors when he could not use a legal action to pass. NASCAR felt the same way and Dillon kept the victory, but had his trip to the checker flag not count toward the playoffs as an automatic qualifier. Dillon is back to where he started before Richmond. He needs a win in one of the final three races to make the NASCAR postseason. Grandpa is not happy. The transmission communicated by crew chief Justin Alexanderto his driver says it all. (See below)
NASCAR’s Take
“I believe if you walk through that garage this weekend and you look at those guys, they know where the line is,” Sawyer said. “I promise you, as a race-car driver, they know where the line is. They’ve done this a long time. It’s been a few years since I did it, but I promise you, I knew where the line was. Hard NASCAR racing, a little bump, little tire mark, moving a guy up out of the groove to win a race, we’ve done that for years. What happened on Sunday night crossed the line, and it was the totality. Again, I use that word, but that’s the way we looked at it.”
My NASCAR MIS Ride along with Richard Childress and Radio submission that got Justin Alexander suspended for 3 races
Richard Childress is appealing NASCAR’s ruling.
Opinion: Erik Jones re signs with Legacy Motorsports
Jones is scheduled to speak with the press this weekend at Michigan (MIS). His press room appearance is probably more for being from Byron, Michigan than reupping with his current team. It was very disappointing to see Jones get punted from Joe Gibbs Racing after the 2020 season. After being non-renewed, he signed with Richard Petty Motorsports which was renamed Legacy Racing when Jimmie Johnson became the co-owner. Jones, in 130+ races with Petty/Legacy has 14 top-ten finishes with a win at Darlington in 2022. That racing resume will often get you canned. Not sure if Jones had other racing options in 2025. Legacy has floundered since Johnson’s involvement. Jones is 28-years-old and if he is going to build on his three career wins, his current team has shown no ability to win or put him in contention to win a race. Hopefully he can be somewhat frank in his conversations with us on Saturday. We will have his quotes from MIS.
Journeyman NASCAR driver reappears with Kaulig Racing
AJ Allmendinger has been around for a longtime. He has appeared in Cup races with eight different teams and will return to Kaulig racing where he drove from 2021-23. This season, he is currently back in the Xfinity Series. My thought is Allmendinger is nearly age 44 and he knows what his role is. Keep the team competitive and run well when the team gives him a quality machine. His last win was in 2021. Looks like Kaulig Racing does not like the pick of young NASCAR talent or cannot afford it. Of course, a sponsor has to like the fit. That is where AJ comes in. Good luck AJ.
To read more on Allmendinger’s return
Ford Motor Performance could use a victory
Joey Logano deserved better after getting dumped by Austin Dillon at Richmond. Of course, Logano is one of the most aggressive drivers on the circuit. He was penalized 50K for his burnout in Dillon’s pit box after the race was over last weekend. He had this to say on pit road after the burnout.
JOEY LOGANO: “It’s chicken shit. There’s no doubt about it. He is four car lengths back, not even close. Then he wrecks the 11 to go along with it. Then he’s going to go up there and thank God and praise everything with his baby. It’s a bunch of BS. It’s not even freakin’ close.“
“Dude, I get it, bump-n-run. I get it. I didn’t back up the corner at all. He came in there and just drove through me. It’s ridiculous that that’s the way we race. Unbelievable.“
“I get bump-n-runs. I do that. I would expect it. But from four car lengths back, he was never going to make the corner. Then he wrecks the other car, wrecks the 11 to go with it. What a piece of crap.”
Logano is driving a Ford and Ford Motor does very well only 35 miles from company headquarters. Logano had a rough start to the 2024 season but has rebounded with several top performances since June. His 19th place finish could have been a race win but he will look to build momentum this week at MIS
Will there be Dillon paybacks at MIS? Not sure. Certainly not obvious ones this weekend without being called to the NASCAR hauler. Dillon’s penalty of losing the race win to make the playoffs takes some of the luster off of other drivers revenge. Still, Hamlin and Logano have long memories. Dillon will have to live with that … playoffs or not.
Roy J. Akers is a multi-media reporter and covers several sports for www.skyviewsports.net