No penalties for Dillon, others after wild Pocono weekend
Tempers flared, a driver threw a helmet and NASCAR took three cars for review but didn’t penalize anyone after the Pocono race weekend.
NASCAR said they would review Austin Dillon’s helmet throw after his wreck in the Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway.
The throw drew questions about a specific section in the rulebook barring drivers from walking onto the track after a wreck.
Upon further review, NASCAR chose not to penalize Dillon.
The sanctioning body also didn’t penalize Kyle Larson, who doored Denny Hamlin on the frontstretch under caution. This happened after Hamlin appeared to run Larson wide exiting turn one while racing for the lead late.
NASCAR’s calls appear to show drivers how they can express their emotions without going over the line.
In May they didn’t suspend Noah Gragson or Ross Chastain for a post-race skirmish at Kansas.
However, they did suspend Chase Elliott for intentionally wrecking Denny Hamlin in the Coca-Cola 600 later that month.
After that race, NASCAR found counterfeit parts on Chase Briscoe’s No. 14 Ford and heavily penalized the team. They were one of six teams whose cars they took back for a post-race review.
After Pocono, NASCAR took Ricky Stenhouse Jr’s car in for a wind tunnel test. They also took Martin Truex Jr. and Kevin Harvick’s cars to the R&D Center for further inspection.
However, all was clear and the sanctioning body didn’t penalize any of those teams.
They now head to Richmond Raceway for the July 30 Cook Out 400 (3 p.m. ET; Broadcast: USA, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com