Austin Dillon "so sorry" for wrecking brother Ty, says he "felt like an idiot"

Austin Dillon entered the NASCAR Cup playoff race at WWT Raceway eight points below the cutline, and desperately needed to make up ground.

Unfortunately, both he and teammate Kyle Busch (who failed to make the playoffs) struggled with the balance of their Richard Childress Racing Chevrolets.

Busch triggered the first caution of the race, spinning on his own at the exit of Turn 2. Dillon complained often early about his ill-handling car, and his frustration was clear over the radio.

"Quit telling me how to drive, I'm driving a piece of s***," he told the team. As the laps ticked away, things didn't get any better as the No. 3 faded through the pack.

After starting 15th, he was running deep in the 30s, battling his brother Ty Dillon in the No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet, who was falling back due to a tight condition. They were two of the last drivers remaining on the lead lap, but the elder Dillon brother got loose, snapped up the track and shot into the side of his brother's car. The contact sent Ty spinning, triggering a caution in the middle of Stage 2.

They were battling for 32nd place at the time of the incident.

Austin immediately showed contrition on the radio, radioing to the team: “Yeah I'm f****** loose. I would never want to do that. I f****** just lost it ... I'm so sorry."

Austin went on to finish 18th, while Ty crashed after suffering a brake failure. 

"I got to apologize to Ty and Kaulig," said Austin after the race. "If I want to spin out under anybody, it ain't him. It's any of these other cats I would have rather done that too. I felt like an idiot doing that. Our cars were just terrible. We had no grip on entry."