The decision is in -- the Final Appeal Officer has determined that Austin Dillon's win at Richmond Raceway will not count toward his playoff eligibility.
Dillon and Richard Childress Racing presented their case to the Final Appeal Officer, Bill Mullis, on Monday. Mullis weighed the case and ultimately determined to uphold the penalties issued to Dillon and RCR. He also upheld the amended penalty issued to spotter Brandon Benesch.
As a result of this decision, Dillon and RCR will not get back the 25 points from the original penalty. The win at Richmond will count in the record book. It will not count toward playoff eligibility, playoff points, or playoff seeding.
"The data presented today from SMT and IDAS systems indicate that more likely than not a rule violation did occur at Richmond Raceway on 8-11-24 by the No. 3 RCR car on the last lap of the race," Mullis said in a statement.
"(Rule 12.3.2.1.B Eligibility, race finishes must be unencumbered by violations of the NASCAR rules or other actions detrimental to stock car auto racing or NASCAR as determined in the sole discretion of NASCAR.)"
The decision of the Final Appeal Officer is the last avenue for Dillon and RCR to pursue. They can only accept the decision and move forward.
The penalties stemmed from the final lap of the Richmond Race on Sunday, Aug. 11. Dillon hit Joey Logano from behind and sent the No. 22 spinning. He then made contact with the right rear of Denny Hamlin's No. 11 and hooked it into the wall.
Dillon crossed the finish line first and won the race. This initially took him from outside the top 30 in points and put him in the playoffs. However, NASCAR issued a behavioral penalty on Aug. 14 and took away Dillon's playoff eligibility.
NASCAR also suspended Benesch for three races due to him yelling "wreck him" over team communication.
Dillon and Richard Childress Racing appealed the penalty. However, the independent appeals panel decided to uphold the penalties issued to Dillon and RCR. The only change the panel made was reducing Benesch's suspension from three races to one.
With the decision of the Final Appeal Officer, Dillon only has one path to the playoffs. He must win the regular-season finale at Darlington Raceway. He is 29th in points and too far below the cutline to point his way in.