Kyle Petty has revised his take on Austin Dillon’s controversial race win of NASCAR’s Cook Out 400 at Richmond, after he watched a replay of the moves that allowed him to swoop into first place.
Initially, Petty criticized Dillon for his aggression when he hit Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano to clinch a win. However, upon reflection, the North Carolina-born driver acknowledged the chaos as something he’d expect to see in a closely fought NASCAR race.
As the race met its end, the drama unfolded dramatically as Dillon, who had been displaying an impressive performance throughout, found himself and Logano vying for position during a restart. Dillon, on the inside, was outmaneuvered by Logano, prompting him to take hs fate into his own hands.
“I thought Austin Dillon ran one of the best races that I have ever seen him drive until those last few laps,” Petty reflected. “Austin Dillon gets outdrove, he doesn’t get outrun, he gets outdrove on the restart. The great race he had driven up to that point — throw it out the window.
NASCAR commentator, Kyle Petty, (L) speaks to the media during a press conference for Goodyear’s 2000th NASCAR Cup Series Victory prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Quaker State 400 Available at Walmart at Atlanta Motor Speedway on July 09, 2023 in Hampton, Georgia. Petty comments on the controversial Cook Out 400 at Richmond.
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“Because now you’re beat, you’ve gotta do something drastic. And we saw him do something drastic.”
Petty’s revised view frames the incident as a typical clash where contact is simply part of the game.
“As I looked at it and as I went back and replayed it, I think this is two guys fighting for the same position. Two different angles and we know from geometry when two lines intersect, we’re gonna have chaos and that’s what happened.”
The win propelled Dillon from 32nd in points standings into the 16-driver postseason field.
“He comes from four or five car lengths back going into Turn 3 on the final lap [and] he gets into Joey Logano and spins him. Don’t whine Joey Logano, we’ve seen you do it before. Denny Hamlin — he can’t say much either. They’ve done the same thing. The thing that bothered me was coming off the corner and turning the 11 into the outside wall. But as I looked at it and as I went back and replayed it, I think this is two guys fighting for the same position. Two different angles and we know from geometry when two lines intersect, we’re gonna have chaos and that’s what happened.”
Petty particularly noted the generational divide in how fans perceived the race.
“If you’re a new fan, you loved that finish. If you’re an old fan, you’re embarrassed because that’s not what NASCAR was built on,” Petty stated. “This is not the platform that my dad [Richard Petty] or Dale Earnhardt Sr. and those guys raced on. They didn’t just wreck, they raced. This is all about wrecking in these last few laps.”
