NASCAR Declines to Penalize Austin Dillon Following Keselowski Altercation

On the latest episode of the NASCAR Hauler Talk Podcast, Amanda Ellis, Senior Director of Racing Communications, explained why NASCAR has opted not to impose penalties on Austin Dillon after an incident involving Brad Keselowski at the Nashville Superspeedway on Sunday.

The clash began on Lap 145 when Dillon was involved in a spin due to a chain reaction on pit entry. Keselowski, maneuvering low, made contact with Dillon, causing him to spin. Dillon expressed his frustration, placing blame on Keselowski in the moment.

Nearly fifty laps later, during a restart, another incident occurred. Dillon followed Keselowski closely and collided with him, resulting in a crash. Spotter TJ Majors immediately suggested to Keselowski that he believed Dillon's actions were intentional retaliation. Keselowski himself echoed this sentiment, stating, “It’s pretty clear he wrecked me intentionally after seeing that replay.”

Despite the heated exchanges, NASCAR officials reviewed the incident but found no grounds for penalties. Ellis noted that Scott Miller, NASCAR's competition strategist, analyzed the data and radio communications from the race. “We knew pretty quickly that Austin was out of the throttle at the time of the incident,” Ellis remarked, suggesting it was more of a racing incident than deliberate aggression.

Broadcast analysts Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Steve Letarte also assessed the situation and concluded it was not intentional. However, Majors maintained his position, stating that Dillon was tracking Keselowski's movements and should have lifted off the throttle. Earnhardt Jr. countered that while Dillon did not appear to be trying to wreck Keselowski on purpose, he didn’t seem particularly concerned about the aftermath either.