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2023 has been one of if not the, worst seasons of Austin Dillon’s career so far. Seven DNFs which included plenty of run-ins on track have caused much of his grief this season. Let’s take a look at all of the run-ins with other drivers that Dillon has had this season.
Late in the race at Gateway, Austin Dillon and Austin Cindric made contact, and Dillon ended up collecting Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Dillon was irate after the incident as he declared that Cindric should have been suspended for intentionally wrecking Dillon. Keep in mind, that this was one week after Chase Elliott intentionally wrecked Denny Hamlin, which caused Elliott to be suspended.
The move stirred some debate as SMT data of the incident was released including Austin Cindric releasing a statement on what happened. In the end, NASCAR decided to not take any further action on the incident.
In 2022, Tyler Reddick and Austin Dillon were teammates. This year, they are rivals, and that came to a head at Pocono. The two were racing for 10th place, and they collided causing Dillon to hit the outside wall.
Dillon was hot after the incident, and he tried to throw his helmet at Reddick’s car passing by and heading into turn one. The accuracy of Dillon’s helmet throw was suspect, but his frustration was at the very least understandable. After the incident, Dillon was asked whether or not the helmet throw was enough, and he responded by saying, “I just need to start wrecking some people.”
While racing in the back half of the top-20 at the end of the race at Watkins Glen, Austin Dillon bumped Kyle Larson heading into turn six, and Larson retaliated by spinning both out in turn seven. The move did not work out well for either driver as Dillon ended up in 32nd with Larson finishing in 26th. Regardless, it was the third time Dillon had been involved with a run-in with another driver all season, and he was hot.
Dillon confronted Larson after the race, and, despite no punches being thrown, the conversation was quite heated. It was the first time the two had any sort of run-in. It was Dillon’s eighth finish outside of the top-30 this season.
This is not to mention all of the other crashes and the big penalty Dillon’s team had at Martinsville. He sits 29th in points, and he is firmly in must-win territory at Daytona.
