After receiving the penalty that stripped of his playoff win at Richmond Raceway, Richard Childress Racing appealed the ruling that allowed race winner Austin Dillon to keep his win but had the playoff bid taken away.
The National Motorsports Appeals Panel held the hearing on Wednesday morning and determined that the penalty itself would stand as orderd with the exception that the three race suspension for the number three car spotter Brandon Benesch would be reduced to just one race.
On the last lap of the overtime finish at Richmond, driver of the number three Austin Dillon hit Joey Logano – who was in the lead at the time – sending him around in a spin; Dillon then hit Denny Hamlin pushing Hamlin into the wall before Dillon crossed the finish line first for the win.
Dillon is allowed to keep his race win but he will not be considered as one of the 16 drivers in the playoffs unless he can notch a win this weekend at Daytona or next week in Darlington.
The penalty also included both Dillon and RCR being docked 25 points. The penalties were assessed under the NASCAR Code of Conduct section in the rule book.
In handing down their ruling, the NMAP stated, “NASCAR represents elite motorsports and, as such, its drivers are expected to demonstrate exemplary conduct if its series’ championships are to be validated. In this case, the ‘line’ was crossed.”
In response to the ruling RCR stated, “Richard Childress Racing is disappointed in the results of today’s hearing in front of the National Motorsports Appeals Panel. We respect the NASCAR appeals process, but we do not believe that today’s outcome reflects the facts presented. We plan to appeal the decision to the Final Appeal Officer.”