Getty Austin Dillon greets fans at Dover Motor Speedway.
The appeals panel has made a decision regarding the L1-Level penalties issued to Richard Childress Racing after the trip to Martinsville Speedway. It has decided to uphold the original penalties issued by NASCAR.
The announcement was made in a release on May 2. The appeals panel — Mr. J. Kirk Russell, Mr. Lake Speed, and Mr. Kevin Whitaker — heard the cases from both NASCAR and Richard Childress Racing. It then determined that RCR had violated the NASCAR Rule Book: Section 14.1.C, E & Q Overall Assembled Vehicle Rules and 14.6.1.A & B Underwing Assembly Mounting.
“As submitted the nuts are not a thread locking device – they are connected and part of the turn buckle,” the panel said in a statement. “The nuts do not lock the assembly. Therefore, the assembly has been modified.”
As a result, the No. 3 team will still lose 60 driver points, 60 owner points, and five playoff points. Crew chief Keith Rodden will still pay a $75,000 fine. He already served his two-race suspension during the trips to Talladega Superspeedway and Dover Motor Speedway, so he will be eligible to return at Kansas Speedway.
Dillon Has Been Unable To Overcome the Loss of Points
GettyAustin Dillon waves to fans at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
When NASCAR originally issued the points penalty to Dillon and the No. 3 team, the result was that he fell from 21st in the championship standings to 28th overall. This created a significant hurdle for him to overcome, which has only grown in the past two races.
Following the trip to Martinsville Speedway, Dillon finished 38th at Talladega Superspeedway due to a crash involving multiple cars. He walked away from the Alabama track with one point.
One week later, Dillon crashed during practice at Dover Motor Speedway. He had to go to a backup car, which dropped him to the rear of the field for the start of the Wurth 400. Dillon was never able to recover as he fell multiple laps down before finishing 27th overall with 10 points.
The driver of the No. 3 is now 31st in the Cup Series standings with 133 points. He is five points behind Harrison Burton and 117 points behind the playoff cutline. Chase Briscoe currently sits in this spot with 250 points after 11 races.
Dillon Has Some Favorable Tracks Ahead
Falling outside of the top 30 in points is not ideal for Dillon and the No. 3 team, but it is not a season-killer. He can still make the playoffs with a win now that NASCAR has removed the rule stating that drivers must be inside the top 30 to contend for a championship.
There are some favorable tracks on the horizon for Dillon. Next up is Kansas, a track where Dillon has an average finish of 16.2 and five top-10s. He hasn’t contended for the win at the intermediate track, but he has run solidly while stacking some crucial points.
Dillon has also performed solidly at Darlington Raceway, the site of Throwback Weekend. He has made 13 starts with five top-10 finishes and two top-fives. A runner-up during the 2020 Southern 500 stands out as his best performance at The Lady in Black.
Of course, the best opportunity to punch a ticket to the playoffs in the immediate future will be at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Dillon will make his 15th start at the track during the Coca-Cola 600, and he will try to win for the second time.
Dillon captured the 2017 race after winning a fuel mileage battle. He took the lead with two laps and held off Kyle Busch on the final run to the checkered flag. Dillon didn’t have the best car, but he took advantage of the strategy.
Dillon nearly won the Coca-Cola 600 for the second time during the 2022 season. He used four fresh tires on an overtime restart to dive to the bottom of the track and to the lead. However, contact with Kyle Larson’s No. 5 kicked off a wreck that collected multiple cars and led to an overtime restart. Denny Hamlin ultimately went on to win while Dillon finished 22nd.