“What an idiot”: Austin Dillon blasts Cody Ware over New Hampshire wreck

Austin Dillon had some harsh words for Cody Ware after the latter wrecked out at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The Richard Childress Racing driver took to the team radio and vented his frustration.

Dillon and Ware had a minor incident during Stage 1. The No.3 driver was looking to remain on the lead lap and bumped Ware, which sent him spinning in front of the race leader, Ryan Blaney.

With less than 50 laps left in the race, Ware had caught up to Dillon and was out for some payback. The No.51 driver tried to nudge Dillon but failed to do so and spun out instead. He wound up on the outside walls and sustained heavy damage.

Dillon promptly took to the team radio and said(via X/Jordan Bianchi),

"What an idiot. What an idiot. Why is he out here?"

Jordan Bianchi

@Jordan_Bianchi

"What an idiot. What an idiot. Why is he out here?" Austin Dillon

Austin Dillon ended up with a 13th-place finish after starting 28th. His RCR teammate, Kyle Busch, fell back to a backmarker finish at 30th. Ryan Blaney, on the other hand, secured his first playoff win and locked himself into the final eight.

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"We fought hard": Austin Dillon reflects on New Hampshire result

Austin Dillon outlined the handling issues that plagued his race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Nonetheless, the RCR driver was pleased to have fared better, considering his poor results of late.

"Proud of the effort from our team. We fought hard for that one. The car was more rigid over the bumps and lacked rear grip at the beginning. We got on the other side of that but then were too tight. (Crew chief Richard) Boswell and the guys kept making adjustments, and we definitely made it better. The top rolled on restarts to gain ground at the end, and we came home with a solid finish, which was needed after our last few weeks,” he said in a post-race interview with NBC Sports.

Austin Dillon's last round at Bristol Motor Speedway proved to be disastrous for the playoff driver. He fell victim to rapid tire degradation and had to back off his pace to preserve rubber.

In an interview with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Dillon shared his experience of the tire wear at Bristol.

“Yeah, you know we were the first one to really experience tire issues. I thought I had a puncture at the beginning of the race. I didn’t know that we were actually cording tires 20 laps into a run.”

The 35-year-old was among the four drivers eliminated from the Round of 16. He finished four laps down at 28th in the running order.

However, he wasn't the only one experiencing tire issues at the half-mile concrete. Polesitter AJ Allmendinger was one of the first to pit due to corded tires. Goodyear even had to supply extra sets midway through the 500-lap event.