Dillon penalty boxes in NASCAR, Logano lucky his isn’t worse
-
Ryan McGee
Close
Ryan McGee
ESPN Senior Writer
- Senior writer for ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com
- 2-time Sports Emmy winner
- 2010, 2014 NMPA Writer of the Year
-
Marty Smith
Close
Marty Smith
ESPN
- ESPN NASCAR lead reporter
- Former NASCAR.com senior writer
- 15 years covering NASCAR
On Sunday night at Richmond International Raceway, Austin Dillon wrecked his way to a thrilling season-saving victory that returned him to the winner’s circle for the first time in nearly two years and also earned him a coveted spot in the NASCAR Playoffs … until it didn’t. On Wednesday, NASCAR announced that Dillon would keep the win but it would no longer count toward his postseason eligibility. The sanctioning body also suspended his spotter for three races and fined Joey Logano, one of Dillon’s two in-race victims, $50,000 for angrily weaving through people on the postrace pit lane on his way to express his displeasure to Dillon’s crew.
It’s a lot to process. A lot of people are angry and have been since Sunday night. So, who better to sift through the physical, emotional and financial wreckage than Marty & McGee?
McGee: First things first. What did you think of the Richmond finish over the weekend before all this other news and podcasts and penalties happened?
Marty: I thought it was desperate by Dillon, but he was in a desperate position. And given the context of the rules under which he was playing in the moment, I don’t blame him one bit for doing what he did.
McGee: Agreed.
Marty: He is the heir of his grandfather’s racing organization that has had an awful year, competitively irrelevant, very rarely made any speed. And for one of the first times all year long, you’re actually running up front all night. And if you go back and look at the practice speeds, he was making speed all weekend, so he had a legitimately good race car. This is an opportunity for him to supplant other drivers that were dozens of positions ahead of him in the point standings and guarantee himself, in that moment, the opportunity for his team to get all the exposure, any bonus money, any escalators, of being a playoff team at the highest level of American motorsport. So, he did what he had to do. And there is a hell of a long line of sinners who’ve done the same thing and been celebrated for it.
McGee: There have always been those racers who have never received the benefit of the doubt, and Dillon is one of those drivers. It has been that way his entire career. I have written columns about it. I’ve argued with people on Twitter about it. Those are the people that I’m talking about. And among those people are race car drivers, people who race against him on the weekends. “Well, he’s no Dale Earnhardt, and he doesn’t deserve the No. 3!” But I would also argue that had Dale Earnhardt done what Austin Dillon did at Richmond, then they would still be replaying it on all of NASCAR social media, and it would be on a loop in the NASCAR Hall of Fame because who you are makes a huge difference on how things are perceived. Speaking of perception, your perception of the penalties? Dillon was in the NASCAR Playoffs, and now he’s not.
Marty: I think we won’t know a real answer for a while. I think this has to play itself out a little bit to really have a true understanding of its magnitude. I understand NASCAR’s positioning because of the blatant nature of the decision Dillon made. All that said, I personally do not agree with the decision.
McGee: Me, either. We now have a ripple effect that I’m not sure NASCAR is going to want.
Marty: I think that he was playing under the rules that were in place. Denny Hamlin is upset and has a right to be. Sorry. Logano is upset and has a right to be. Sorry. But those are the rules, and NASCAR will say, “We didn’t take his win away!” but what they took away was more valuable than the trophy, and so for me, I don’t like the decision on NASCAR’s part. They will say they are setting a precedent that you can’t do this. Well, I think it’s based on making sure this doesn’t happen in Phoenix at the end of the year. Well, tell them before you go into the competitive arena at Phoenix: “If you do that and we deem it purposeful, you ain’t getting the title.”
McGee: Absolutely. There are contextual penalties. That exists in any sport. You talk to any football official, and they will tell you that there’s a personal foul they won’t call in the second quarter that they will absolutely call with two minutes to go in a game, when the stakes are higher and when they have warned the players multiple times during the game or even during the season, “If you guys keep doing this, it’s going to cost you.”
Marty: Context matters.
McGee: Hell yes it does, and people who like to go back to the old days, that’s how Bill France Jr. did it when he was in charge. He would walk in and say, “All right, this is how this is going to be today, and y’all better not do this.” And then there were also times where he would say, “OK, y’all do everything you want today.” And it doesn’t feel like that context existed in this decision. You wanted to set a precedent and you’ve done it, but now you are also going to have to defend it when you don’t do this in certain situations going forward.
Marty: I was in the truck for 11 hours on Wednesday, just the dog and me, and I was going back through NASCAR history in my head, and some of those moments you’re discussing, whether it is Jeff Gordon and Rusty Wallace in 1998 …
McGee: At Richmond!
Marty: Kyle Busch dumping Dale Jr. to win in 2008 …
McGee: At Richmond!
Marty: I know playoff positions weren’t up for grabs at that moment, but it still speaks to the broader scope and magnitude of NASCAR’s decision or Dillon’s decision, that are wider-reaching and deeper. But I just like it. I think that those types of moments are what built the sport. And quite frankly, because of that finish, NASCAR was on “SportsCenter” immediately on Sunday night, right? NASCAR hadn’t been on “SportsCenter” since six months ago when Ryan McGee was doing a live shot in a motorized recliner at the Daytona 500.
McGee: It goes back to the 1979 Daytona 500 and “the fight.” Publicly, NASCAR fined Cale Yarborough and the Allison brothers for “actions detrimental to the sport.” Privately, Bill Jr. flew them down to Daytona, thanked them for what they did and never charged them a dime.
Marty: Then there is the other half of this Richmond story. You have every right to be pissed off if you are Logano, but when you’re on the pit lane and it’s the end of a race — and you and I both lived it millions of times — it’s chaos. There are people running everywhere. Joey lost his temper, but you have to make sure, as furious as he was and had a right to be, you have to maintain your composure much better than he did. There is zero excuse for driving down the pit lane through people. Zero.
NASCAR got it right with all of the post-Richmond rulings. And after watching Logano’s onboard camera as he plowed down the postrace pit lane, people are lucky they aren’t in the hospital and he’s lucky he didn’t end up jail. pic.twitter.com/ZyGMzDLAz5
— Ryan McGee (@ESPNMcGee) August 14, 2024
McGee: He’s lucky he’s not in jail, and we are all lucky that people aren’t in the hospital. A lot of fans have said to me, “Well, those people shouldn’t have been out there!” No, there’s a rhythm to that, a postrace routine that has been in place forever. Regardless of whether they should be out there, they were where they were, right? There’s safety in that routine: Cars stay to the right, people stay to the left, and those people aren’t allowed to go all the way out there until the cars come to a complete stop. As soon as Logano pulled left and started driving through people, that routine and rhythm was altered. That’s why that family was standing there; they were standing in a safe spot. There weren’t supposed to be race cars there. People have said to me, “Well, yeah, what if his brakes had gone out?” Irrelevant, because they wouldn’t have been allowed out there until the cars had stopped.
Marty: He just knows better than that.
McGee: Yes, he does, because his family does that same routine, too. That, to me, was even more egregious than what took place on a racetrack, because a race car driver knows what he’s getting into. A NASCAR official and a pit crew member and a mom holding a baby, they know where they are, but they also know where they are standing is supposed to be safe. He created a very, very unsafe environment.
Marty: He’s been a Cup Series driver forever, more than half his life, and you have a right, in my opinion, to march your ass into Victory Lane and bust Austin Dillon right in the mouth. That’s you and him.
McGee: Not you and innocent bystanders.
Marty: I wonder what will happen if this happens again, and how will NASCAR rule it? Is it now black and white? Dillon hooking Hamlin and running into Logano, that was not subjective. He did both like a bat out of hell to give his team that chance to make the playoffs. A lot of calls coming to the checkers are subjective, though. So, if you’re a team who is 20th in points, or hell, 18th in points, and you’re right outside that threshold, and you’re door to door, coming to the checkers, and you’re on the outside, you’re leaning on that door and somebody gets dumped, what’s NASCAR going to do? Well, now they are in the box.
McGee: A box they built themselves.
The first day of the 2025 MLB draft is complete! The Washington Nationals selected Eli Willits with the No. 1 pick, opting for the prep shortstop — who might be more likely to sign below slot — in a draft with no clear-cut top prospect. And there were plenty of other intriguing selections as the first three rounds unfolded Sunday night.
The Seattle Mariners had to have been thrilled to have Kiley McDaniel’s No. 1-ranked prospect, Kade Anderson, fall to them at No. 3, and Ethan Holliday was selected at No. 4 by his famous father’s former squad the Colorado Rockies.
We asked ESPN baseball insiders Alden Gonzalez, Jesse Rogers and David Schoenfield to break down their favorite and most head-scratching moves of the draft’s first night, as well as to predict which players will bring the most to their new teams in the long term.
A lot of us were thrown for a loop by the first two selections. What do you make of the Nationals taking Ethan Willits at No. 1 and the Angels picking Tyler Bremner at No. 2?
Gonzalez: I was stunned on both accounts. Though there was definitely some uncertainty around the Nationals’ approach, especially since the firing of GM Mike Rizzo, I didn’t see anybody, anywhere, projecting Willits to be their choice at No. 1 overall. But the Angels drafting Bremner was an even bigger risk. Kiley had him 18th in his latest ranking. Six pitchers were ranked ahead of him. But Bremner might be someone who can rise and impact their major league roster quickly, and the Angels are always looking for that.
Rogers: The first two picks really summed up the uncertainty of the entire draft. The Nationals’ faith in a 17-year-old will be tested over the coming years, but the pick will likely save them some money for later in this draft and give Willits time to grow. The same can be said of many of the top picks: They’re going to need time. There are far fewer sure things this year — though Bremner could be the exception. The Angles love to graduate their players quickly, and as a college arm, he could see the majors sooner rather than later. Like Willits, this could also be a cost-saving move for later spending.
Schoenfield: In a draft that not only lacked a sure-thing No. 1 overall pick but was viewed as weaker at the top than those of recent years, it’s perhaps not a huge surprise that the Nationals and Angels used their picks to strike likely underslot deals with Willits and Bremner, giving them money to spend later in the draft — which they can use on high school prospects who might have slipped, trying to buy them out from going to college. It’s a strategy teams have used with success over the years, so the drafts for the Nationals and Angels will have to be viewed in their totality and not just focused on these two players.
What was your favorite pick of the night — and which one had you scratching your head?
Gonzalez: The Rockies have done a lot of things wrong over these last few … uh, decades. But it was really cool to see them take Ethan Holliday at No. 4 after his father, Matt, starred in Colorado for so long. Outside of the top two picks, Ethan Conrad going 17th to the Cubs was my biggest surprise of the night. Kiley had him ranked 30th; others had him falling out of the first round entirely. There’s uncertainty coming off shoulder surgery. But Conrad, 21, put up a 1.238 OPS in 97 plate appearances before his season ended prematurely in March. And the dearth of college bats probably influenced a slight reach here.
Rogers: I’m loving Billy Carlson to the White Sox at No. 10. Though they lost 121 games last season, Chicago couldn’t pick higher than this spot per CBA rules — but the Sox might have gotten a top-five player. Carlson’s defense will play extremely well behind a sneaky good and young pitching staff that should keep the ball on the ground in the long term. Meanwhile, with the pick of the litter when it came to hitters — college outfielders and high school kids as well — the Pirates took a high school pitcher at No. 6. Seth Hernandez could be great, but they need hitting. A lot of it.
Schoenfield: The Mariners reportedly wanted LSU left-hander Kade Anderson all along, but they certainly couldn’t have been expecting to get him with the third pick. (Keep in mind that the Mariners were lucky in the first place to land the third pick in the lottery, so they added some good fortune on top of good luck.) They get the most polished college pitcher in the draft, one who should move quickly — and perhaps make it a little easier for Jerry Dipoto to dip into his farm system and upgrade the big league roster at the trade deadline. Even though I understand why the Angels did it, Bremner still seems a little questionable. With the second pick, you want to go for a home run, and the consensus is that Holliday or even Anderson is more likely to be a more impactful major leaguer. Bremner’s lack of a third plus pitch is an issue, and you have to wonder if the Angels are relying too much on his control — which, yes, should allow him to get to the majors — and ignoring the possible lack of upside.
Who is the one player you’d like to plant your flag on as the biggest steal of this draft?
Gonzalez: Seth Hernandez, who went sixth to the Pirates and should someday share a rotation with Paul Skenes and Jared Jones. High school pitchers are incredibly risky, especially when taken so early in the draft. But Hernandez is a great athlete who already throws hard, boasts a plus changeup and showed improvement with his breaking ball this spring. He’ll go the Hunter Greene route, from standout high school pitcher to major league ace.
Rogers: Jamie Arnold will look like a steal at No. 11, especially when he debuts in the majors well before many of the players taken around him. I’m not worried about the innings drop in 2025 — not when he was striking out 119 hitters and walking just 27. The A’s need to polish him up but will be pleased by how consistent he’ll be. You can’t go wrong with a college lefty from an ACC school — at least, the A’s didn’t.
Schoenfield: I’m going with Billy Carlson with the 10th pick — with the admitted caveat that the White Sox haven’t exactly been stellar at developing hitters. But Carlson looks like an elite defensive shortstop with plus power, and that alone can make him a valuable major leaguer. If the hit tool comes along, we’re looking at a potential star. OK, he’s Bobby Witt Jr. lite? That’s still an All-Star player.
What’s your biggest takeaway from Day 1 of this draft?
Gonzalez: The Nationals throwing a wrench into the proceedings by selecting Willits. It was a surprising choice, but in their minds an easy one. Interim general manager Mike DeBartolo called Willits the best hitter and best fielder available. And in a draft devoid of can’t-miss, high-impact talent, Willits is no doubt a solid pick — a polished hitter who should stick at shortstop and might consistently hit 20 homers and steal 20 bases at a premium position. He also might come under slot, allowing flexibility later in the draft. But his selection is what allowed Anderson to reach the Mariners at No. 3 and prompted the Rockies to draft Holliday at No. 4, among other dominoes. It set a really interesting tone.
Rogers: Things change quickly in baseball. Whereas college hitters are usually the safest bets early in the draft, this year high school position players dominated. (And they all play shortstop, at least for now.) Athleticism has returned to baseball, and draft rooms are acting accordingly.
Schoenfield: I’m agreeing with Jesse. The selection of that many prep shortstops stood out — and they all seem to hit left-handed and run well, and some of them have big power potential and a cannon for an arm. Look, the hit tool is the most important and the hardest to scout and project, so not all these kids are going to make it, but their potential is exciting and, to Jesse’s point, their wide range of tools is showing that baseball is still drawing top athletes to the sport.
The 2025 MLB All-Star Home Run Derby is fast approaching — and the field is set.
Braves hometown hero Ronald Acuna Jr. became the first player to commit to the event, which will be held at Truist Park in Atlanta on July 14 (8 p.m. ET on ESPN). He was followed by MLB home run leader Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners, James Wood of the Washington Nationals, Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins, Oneil Cruz of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Junior Caminero of the Tampa Bay Rays, Brent Rooker of the Athletics and Jazz Chisholm Jr. of the New York Yankees.
On Friday, however, Acuna was replaced by teammate Matt Olson.
With all the entrants announced, let’s break down their chances at taking home this year’s Derby prize.
Full All-Star Game coverage: How to watch, schedule, rosters, more
2025 home runs: 17 | Longest: 434 feet
Why he could win: Olson is a late replacement for Acuna as the home team’s representative at this year’s Derby. Apart from being the Braves’ first baseman, however, Olson also was born in Atlanta and grew up a Braves fan, giving him some extra motivation. The left-handed slugger led the majors in home runs in 2023 — his 54 round-trippers that season also set a franchise record — and he remains among the best in the game when it comes to exit velo and hard-hit rate.
Why he might not: The home-field advantage can also be a detriment if a player gets too hyped up in the first round. See Julio Rodriguez in Seattle in 2023, when he had a monster first round, with 41 home runs, but then tired out in the second round.
2025 home runs: 36 | Longest: 440 feet
Why he could win: It’s the season of Cal! The Mariners’ catcher is having one of the greatest slugging first halves in MLB history, as he’s been crushing mistakes all season . His easy raw power might be tailor-made for the Derby — he ranks in the 87th percentile in average exit velocity and delivers the ball, on average, at the optimal home run launch angle of 23 degrees. His calm demeanor might also be perfect for the contest as he won’t get too amped up.
Why he might not: He’s a catcher — and one who has carried a heavy workload, playing in all but one game this season. This contest is as much about stamina as anything, and whether Raleigh can carry his power through three rounds would be a concern. No catcher has ever won the Derby, with only Ivan Rodriguez back in 2005 even reaching the finals.
2025 home runs: 24 | Longest: 451 feet
Why he could win: He’s big, he’s strong, he’s young, he’s awesome, he might or might not be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. This is the perfect opportunity for Wood to show his talent on the national stage, and he wouldn’t be the first young player to star in the Derby. He ranks in the 97th percentile in average exit velocity and 99th percentile in hard-hit rate, so he can still muscle the ball out in BP even if he slightly mishits it. His long arms might be viewed as a detriment, but remember the similarly tall Aaron Judge won in 2017.
Why he might not: His natural swing isn’t a pure uppercut — he has a pretty low average launch angle of just 6.2 degrees — so we’ll see how that plays in a rapid-fire session. In real games, his power is primarily to the opposite field, but in a Home Run Derby you can get more cheapies pulling the ball down the line.
2025 home runs: 20 | Longest: 479 feet
Why he could win: Buxton’s raw power remains as impressive as nearly any hitter in the game. He crushed a 479-foot home run earlier this season and has four others of at least 425 feet. Indeed, his “no doubter” percentage — home runs that would be out of all 30 parks based on distance — is 75%, the highest in the majors among players with more than a dozen home runs. His bat speed ranks in the 89th percentile. In other words, two tools that could translate to a BP lightning show.
Why he might not: Buxton is 31 and the Home Run Derby feels a little more like a younger man’s competition. Teoscar Hernandez did win last year at age 31, but before that, the last winner older than 29 was David Ortiz in 2010, and that was under much different rules than are used now.
2025 home runs: 16 | Longest: 463 feet
Why he could win: If you drew up a short list of players everyone wants to see in the Home Run Derby, Cruz would be near the top. He has the hardest-hit ball of the 2025 season, and the hardest ever tracked by Statcast, a 432-foot missile of a home run with an exit velocity of 122.9 mph. He also crushed a 463-foot home run in Anaheim that soared way beyond the trees in center field. With his elite bat speed — 100th percentile — Cruz has the ability to awe the crowd with a potentially all-time performance.
Why he might not: Like all first-time contestants, can he stay within himself and not get too caught up in the moment? He has a long swing, which will result in some huge blasts, but might not be the most efficient for a contest like this one, where the more swings a hitter can get in before the clock expires, the better.
2025 home runs: 23 | Longest: 425 feet
Why he could win: Although Caminero was one of the most hyped prospects entering 2024, everyone kind of forgot about him heading into this season since he didn’t immediately rip apart the majors as a rookie. In his first full season, however, he has showed off his big-time raw power — giving him a chance to become just the third player to reach 40 home runs in his age-21 season. He has perhaps the quickest bat in the majors, ranking in the 100th percentile in bat speed, and his top exit velocity ranks in the top 15. That could translate to a barrage of home runs.
Why he might not: In game action, Caminero does hit the ball on the ground quite often — in fact, he’s on pace to break Jim Rice’s record for double plays grounded into in a season. If he gets out of rhythm, that could lead to a lot of low line drives during the Derby instead of fly balls that clear the fences.
2025 home runs: 19 | Longest: 440 feet
Why he could win: The Athletics slugger has been one of the top power hitters in the majors for three seasons now and is on his way to a third straight 30-homer season. Rooker has plus bat speed and raw power, but his biggest strength is an optimal average launch angle (19 degrees in 2024, 15 degrees this season) that translates to home runs in game action. That natural swing could be picture perfect for the Home Run Derby. He also wasn’t shy about saying he wanted to participate — and maybe that bodes well for his chances.
Why he might not: Rooker might not have quite the same raw power as some of the other competitors, as he has just one home run longer than 425 feet in 2025. But that’s a little nitpicky, as 11 of his home runs have still gone 400-plus feet. He competed in the college home run derby in Omaha while at Mississippi State in 2016 and finished fourth.
2025 home runs: 17 | Longest: 442 feet
Why he could win: Chisholm might not be the most obvious name to participate, given his career high of 24 home runs, but he has belted 17 already in 2025 in his first 61 games after missing some time with an injury. He ranks among the MLB leaders in a couple of home run-related categories, ranking in the 96th percentile in expected slugging percentage and 98th percentile in barrel rate. His raw power might not match that of the other participants, but he’s a dead-pull hitter who has increased his launch angle this season, which might translate well to the Derby, even if he won’t be the guy hitting the longest home runs.
Why he might not: Most of the guys who have won this have been big, powerful sluggers. Chisholm is listed at 5-foot-11, 184 pounds, and you have to go back to Miguel Tejada in 2004 to find the last player under 6 foot to win.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike