For the second straight week, Ty Dillon has found himself under the spotlight for all the wrong reasons in the middle of the NASCAR playoffs. After drawing heat at Las Vegas for jeopardizing William Byron\u2019s bid for P2 by diving onto pit road without warning, neither signaling with his hand nor through his spotter, the Kaulig Racing driver stirred controversy once again at Talladega.<\/p>\n
This time, Dillon clipped a tire belonging to Josh <\/a><\/strong>Berry<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s team while it was still inside Berry\u2019s pit box, sending it into a crew member, who was struck in the process by Dillon\u2019s No. 10 car.<\/p>\n The move sparked backlash from NASCAR veterans Kyle Petty and Steve Letarte<\/a><\/strong>, both of whom held nothing back in their criticism. Petty, who knows the ins and outs of pit road from his Cup Series days, called Dillon\u2019s actions unacceptable.<\/p>\n \u201cTy Dillon left the pits box thinking I\u2019m not responsible for what this car hit car hits. The tire is there. You\u2019ve got to avoid that tire because you\u2019re going to knock that tire exactly like he did up under the back of the car into a crew member. That is a no no! That\u2019s a safety violation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Letarte, a former crew chief turned analyst, was even more blunt, stating that if he were running the No. 21 pit box, there would\u2019ve been a serious post-race talk. \u201cThe 10 is deep in his box, way deep in his box. He could have backed up very, very easily. The pit crew member is even there, putting his hand out,\u201d Letarte said on Inside the Race.<\/p>\n