Family racing dynasties and drivers racing for their family teams is one of the roots of NASCAR. From the bottom of ladder to the top, there are still multiple drivers who races for their father or grandfather. Former Xfinity Series champion Austin Dillon is one of those drivers. He has been driving full time or his grandfather Richard Childress Racing since 2014.
Austin Dillon, who made it into the Cup series after winning the championships in the Trucks and Xfinity Series, isn’t the most liked driver on the grid. His limited success in last 10 years in the top tier (only 4 wins) and the fact that he is underperforming in the iconic No:3 car is the reason for his poor reception. Nowadays, Dillon is having more bad luck in the Next-Gen era and is getting more slack from the fans. But according to JGR veteran Denny Hamlin, Dillon doesn’t deserve such treatment.
ARCA brakes. He had ARCA brakes. Austin Dillon has had some crap luck. I love Austin. He’s a good person. Austin gets a lot of s—, because he’s racing for his grandfather. People think he’s silver spoon. Austin Dillon is a great person. He’s a fantastic human. Doesn’t deserve a lot of the flack that he gets. Man, he’s had a bad run at it. Hamlin said via Action Detrimental podcast while talking about Dillon’s Phoenix wreck.
Hamlin, who has seen Dillon race since his debut reckons the RCR driver is going through a bad patch. This often results him starting race in unfavorable positions, which would essentially puts him in DNF situations. Dillon is the drivers to encounter most DNF in the Next-Gen era. He led the list in 2022, 2023 and in just four races into 2024 is already leading the list.
Austin Dillon is as competitive as Denny Hamlin
Hamlin, while discussing how bad luck and poor run is costing Dillon highlighted the prowess and competitive sprint of the Chevy star. He pointed out that Dillon is as hungry, athletic and determined as him to produce best results on the track.
You know he wants to turn around. That kid’s got drive. He’s as competitive as I am, maybe more. He’s certainly more athletic than I am...I play a lot of sports with Austin Dillon, and he’s competitive Hamlin said.
RCR also has a huge role to play in the struggles of Dillon. They are yet to find set-ups in the Nex-Gen cars that could consistently makes them fast in all tracks. So, lack of fast cars and the poor luck is taking the tole of Dillon.
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