Logano unloads on Dillon after frantic OT finish
RICHMOND, Va. — Desperate to win for the first time in nearly two years — and with the race suddenly slipping away — Austin Dillon sent two cars into the wall in rapid succession.
The result was a season-changing victory, an avalanche of controversy and at least two veteran drivers who were absolutely furious.
“I hate to do that, but sometimes you just got to have it,” Dillon said.
Dillon raced and bumped his way to victory Sunday night, sending Joey Logano into a spin on the final lap to win in overtime at Richmond. It was his first win since Aug. 28, 2022, at Daytona. He had just two top-10 finishes this year and entered the race ranked 32nd in the standings. Now he’s on track for the playoffs — but he didn’t get there gently.
Dillon appeared to be cruising to a victory when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Ryan Preece collided, forcing the first caution of the entire 400-lap, 300-mile race aside from the prescheduled ones after the ends of the first two stages.
So the drivers went to overtime, and Logano clearly got the better of Dillon on the restart. Then Dillon came up directly behind Logano and spun him.
“It’s ridiculous that that’s the way we race. Unbelievable,” Logano said. “I get bump and runs. I do that. I would expect it. But from four car lengths back, he was never going to make the corner. And then he wrecks the other car. He wrecks the 11 to go with it. What a piece of crap.”
The 11 was Denny Hamlin, who appeared to be moving past Dillon on the inside after Dillon bumped Logano’s No. 22 car. Then Dillon hit the back right part of Hamlin’s car and put him into the wall, too.
“He’s going to be credited with the win, but obviously he’s just not going to go far,” Hamlin said. “You’ve got to pay your dues back on stuff like that. But it’s worth it, because they jump 20 positions in points. So I understand all that. There’s no ill will there. I get it. I just hate I was a part of it. It would have been fun if I was not one of the two guys that got taken out on the last corner.”
Dillon emerged from all the chaos with a victory in his No. 3 Chevrolet. That number was famously driven — often aggressively — by Dale Earnhardt. But times have changed since Earnhardt’s heyday, and Elton Sawyer, NASCAR’s senior vice president of competition, made it clear the end of this race would be looked at.
“In my view, that’s getting really close to crossing the line,” Sawyer said.
Actually vacating the victory, however, would be an extraordinary step.
“Historically, that hasn’t been our DNA to take races away, but that’s not to say that going forward this wouldn’t start to set a precedent,” Sawyer said. “We’d have to look at it.”
Dillon appeared on his way to a much less controversial win after passing Hamlin for the lead with 29 laps to go. But then the Stenhouse-Preece crash and subsequent restart left Dillon in danger of an agonizing defeat.
Dillon said he was trying to move Logano’s car, but hitting Hamlin as well was more of an instant reaction.
“It’s ridiculous that that’s the way we race. Unbelievable. I get bump and runs. I do that. I would expect it. But from four car lengths back, he was never going to make the corner. And then he wrecks the other car. He wrecks the 11 to go with it. What a piece of crap.”
Joey Logano
“I’ve seen Denny and Joey make moves that have been running people up the track to win,” Dillon said. “This was the first opportunity in two years for me to be able to get a win. … I’ve seen a lot of stuff over the years in NASCAR where people move people, and it’s just part of our sport.”
Owner Richard Childress, Dillon’s grandfather, expressed a similar sentiment. Childress was also asked about possible audio of Dillon being told to wreck another driver during the frantic finish.
“I didn’t hear him, and I was on the radio with him. We’ll see,” Childress said. “If he did, he did a damn good job at it. He won the race.”
Hamlin finished second, followed by Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace and Ross Chastain. Dillon’s victory was not good news for Wallace and the other drivers on the playoff bubble.
“Nice to walk out of here with a top-five finish,” Wallace said. “We have a long way to go. We just have to keep fighting. I guess you can dump somebody and right rear somebody and be OK. It’s funny how that works.”
Christopher Bell won the first stage, but he was later penalized for speeding on pit road and finished sixth. Daniel Suárez won the second stage.
Martin Truex Jr. was knocked from the race by engine trouble early in the final stage. He remains the top winless driver in the standings.
The 151st running of the Kentucky Derby is set to deliver yet another exhilarating race to the finish. From the field to the favorite, here is everything to know about the first leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown.
When is the 2025 Kentucky Derby?
The 2025 Kentucky Derby will take place Saturday at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.
What time does the 2025 Kentucky Derby begin?
The post time for the 2025 Kentucky Derby is 6:57 p.m. ET.
How can fans watch?
Coverage of the 2025 Kentucky Derby begins at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC. Peacock will stream early coverage beginning at noon ET.
How many horses run in the Kentucky Derby?
Twenty horses have the chance to compete in the Kentucky Derby.
How do horses qualify for the Kentucky Derby?
To earn a spot in the starting gate of the Kentucky Derby, a horse must compete in a series of designated races from September through mid-April. Points are awarded to the top five finishers in each race. The 20 horses with the most points, or the horses who win their international series, earn a spot in the starting gate in Louisville on the first Saturday in May.
Who is the favorite in the 2025 Kentucky Derby?
Journalism, trained by Michael McCarthy, opened as the 3-1 favorite.
What are the post positions for the 2025 Kentucky Derby?
Post 1: Citizen Bull (20-1 morning line odds)
Post 2: Neoequos (30-1)
Post 3: Final Gambit (30-1)
Post 4: Rodriguez (12-1)
Post 5: American Promise (30-1)
Post 6: Admire Daytona (30-1)
Post 7: Luxor Cafe (15-1)
Post 8: Journalism (3-1)
Post 9: Burnham Square (12-1)
Post 10: Grande (20-1)
Post 11: Flying Mohawk (30-1)
Post 12: East Avenue (20-1)
Post 13: Publisher (20-1)
Post 14: Tiztastic (20-1)
Post 15: Render Judgment (30-1)
Post 16: Coal Battle (30-1)
Post 17: Sandman (6-1)
Post 18: Sovereignty (5-1)
Post 19: Chunk of Gold (30-1)
Post 20: Owen Almighty (30-1)
Alternate: Baeza
Which post has produced the most Kentucky Derby winners?
Post 5 has produced the most winners, with 10.
What three races make up horse racing’s Triple Crown?
The Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes are the three races needed to accomplish the Triple Crown.
Who won the 2024 Kentucky Derby?
Mystik Dan, trained by Kenny McPeek, won last year’s Kentucky Derby at 18-1 odds.
What is the purse for the 2025 Kentucky Derby?
Since 2024, $5 million in prize money has been guaranteed for the Kentucky Derby.
Check out the ESPN horse racing hub page for the latest news and notes ahead of the big race.
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Ryan S. Clark
Add Rick Tocchet to the list of available coaching options on the open market with the Vancouver Canucks announcing Tuesday that Tocchet left the team.
There had been a belief that Tocchet’s time with the Canucks could be coming to an end. Last week saw the discussion of Tocchet’s future with the franchise come under greater focus, with Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford saying they weren’t exercising their option on Tocchet’s contract before adding that they offered him a new, more lucrative deal to remain in Vancouver.
But now? Tocchet joins the list of sought-after coaching candidates and the Canucks become the eighth NHL team that will use this offseason to go through a coaching search.
“After a very long and thorough process, unfortunately Rick has decided to leave the Vancouver Canucks,” Rutherford said in a statement. “This is very disappointing news, but we respect Rick’s decision to move to a new chapter in his hockey career. We did everything in our power to keep him but at the end of the day, Rick felt he needed a change.”
In the same news conference in which Rutherford said the team offered Tocchet a new deal, he also said that Tocchet “may have his mind somewhere else” before adding that he felt Tocchet and his staff did “a good job coaching this team this year” as they did in their first full campaign.
Tocchet was a midseason hire during the 2022-23 season. His first full year in charge saw the Canucks win 50 games, finish with 109 points and win the Pacific Division. He led the Canucks to their first postseason appearance since the 2019-20 season and was a win away from advancing to the Western Conference finals.
Entering this season, the Canucks had most of their players from their playoff team. They started strong with a 15-8-5 record but encountered numerous on-ice and off-ice problems that would prove too large.
Among them was the friction between star forwards J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson. The tension between Miller and Pettersson reached a stage in which Canucks captain Quinn Hughes publicly acknowledged there was an issue with Miller and Pettersson denying such issues.
Miller would be traded to the New York Rangers before the trade deadline, and the Canucks struggled to find someone who could replace his production. They would finish six points behind the St. Louis Blues for the final Western Conference wild-card spot.
Still, Tocchet had the support of Hughes, along with others within the organization who wanted him to stay.
As for what it all means going forward for both parties? Tocchet is among those who will join Mike Sullivan, who parted ways with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday after winning two Stanley Cups in 10 seasons, as one of the most attractive names for teams seeking a new bench boss.
Then there are the teams that need a coach. It’s a list that includes the Anaheim Ducks, Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Seattle Kraken, plus the Penguins and now the Canucks.
“I’m choosing to move on from the Vancouver Canucks,” Tocchet said. “Family is a priority, and with my contract lapsing, this becomes an opportune time. While I don’t know where I’m headed, or exactly how this will play out for me over the near term, I feel like this is the right time for me to explore other opportunities around hockey.”
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