Richard Childress on Austin Dillon ruling: 'Changed NASCAR racing ... forever'

DARLINGTON, S.C. — A disappointed Richard Childress, who has raced in NASCAR as a team owner for 55 years, indicated that NASCAR’s ruling and its appeals decisions that revoked Austin Dillon’s playoff spot will have a huge impact on NASCAR racing and he also considers himself having received the biggest fine in NASCAR history in the money lost in not making the playoffs.

"Their ruling has changed NASCAR racing on the final lap forever," Childress said Saturday prior to Cup practice at Darlington Raceway, later adding, "It’s over a million dollars to us. The largest fine ever in NASCAR. I’m just disappointed, disappointed, disappointed. That’s all I can say."

Richard Childress Racing appealed the NASCAR decision from Dillon’s Aug. 11 win at Richmond where he ran into the back of Joey Logano and then into the side of Denny Hamlin in the final turns to win the race. A driver earns an automatic berth to the 16-driver playoff field with the victory (as long as there aren’t more than 16 winners during the season), but NASCAR revoked that berth under a rule that says the win must be unencumbered by violations of NASCAR rules or actions detrimental to NASCAR.

A three-member NASCAR-appointed appeals board denied RCR’s first appeal Aug. 20 and NASCAR’s final appeal officer also upheld the NASCAR decision Aug. 25. The wording in the NASCAR rulebook gives NASCAR "sole discretion" to determine what actions are detrimental and what are rules violations, and NASCAR has a general rule that a driver can be penalized for contact with another driver.

"If we hadn't penalized it, then I think what we would see over the next 12 weeks would look significantly different," NASCAR President Steve Phelps said on the FOX Sports’ "Kevin Harvick’s