NASCAR playoff desperation reached a controversial peak at Richmond Raceway last year.

At the mercy of securing a victory to make the 16-driver field that competes for the Cup championship, Austin Dillon wrecked Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin in the final two corners of the last lap to claim his first win in nearly two years .

The celebration was short-lived as NASCAR revoked Dillon’s playoff eligibility three days later in determining the Richard Childress Racing driver “crossed a line” with rough driving .

“NASCAR drew a line in the sand,” Hamlin said Friday. “They’re not afraid to make hard decisions, and I think that’s very, very important to the governing of the sport, so it’s not a circus. And so I do feel a little bit better about it now than 12 months ago.

"Certainly, that

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