Simmering feud between Keselowski and Austin Dillon surfaces at Loudon

In perhaps a continuation from last August at Michigan, Brad Keselowski and Austin Dillon had odd sort of on -track tangle during Sunday’s Cup race at Loudon.

During a caution period when both drivers were running outside the top 10, Dillon took his Chevy up into the Ford of Keselowski who retaliated by shoving Dillon’s Chevy back down the track and off the course entering Turn 3.

“The guy tried to wreck me down the backstretch” Keselowski told his team on the radio.

The two parted after a few tense moments with Keselowski seemingly getting the worst of the encounter with a flat left front.

Dillon swerved at Keselowski under caution. The No. 6 has a flat left front. Keselowski may have had the last laugh, however. He would rally to finish 7th, Dillon came home 23rd.

Last August during the Michigan race Keselowski and Dillon also made contact as Stage 2 was coming to an end. Dillon crossed the line in sixth, Keselowski just behind in seventh. Contact between the two sent Dillon’s Chevy hard into the outside wall ending his race.

Dillon’s team owner Richard Childress seemed to think the hit was intentional and said on the No. 3 radio that Keselowski: “Hit him on purpose. I’m an old man but I’d kick his ass.”

Dillon finished that race 36th, Keselowski 9th.

Dillon said he wasn’t sure what had set Keselowski off Sunday.

“You guys saw it right?” Dillon said. “I mean just hard racing I guess. We’ve gone at it a couple of times in the last two years, one time I hit really hard so, just don’t like the way certain people race me. Probably not the right way to do it, under caution.

“We weren’t very good today, but we’ll go to fight on the next race; we’ve got to get this 3 car in the Playoffs.”

For his part Keselowski didn’t really reveal what had angered him.

“Hot in the cars and we all let our tempers get the best of us,” he said. “We had a decent day here. The Kohler Generators Ford Mustang climbed really far that last run. I think we went from somewhere around the late teens and 20’s up to seventh on that last run. I am proud of our team for the effort today. It was certainly an up and down day today and it was good to finish on an up note.”

Asked if he would be talking to Dillon, Keselowski said:

“I will talk to him privately. I don’t need to be a jerk over the media.”

Dillon doesn’t expect to be having a conversation with Keselowski anytime soon.

“Nah, I don’t talk to him,” Dillon said.

Greg Engle