Ty Dillon is joining Kaulig Racing in the Cup Series. This time he’s suiting up in the No. 16 car for five races. The first race on his schedule is this week at Richmond. Dillon has been racing full-time in the NASCAR Truck Series this season.
Ty Dillon raced full-time last season with Spire Motorsports. After a very forgettable season that saw a best finish of P11, Dillon lost his full-time seat. He still has a passion for Cup Series racing and wants to be in the big show if at all possible.
Dillon is going to race at Richmond, Texas, New Hampshire, Richmond-2, and Kansas this season for Kaulig. Sponsorship has yet to be announced for the 32-year-old wheelman.
In his NASCAR career, Ty Dillon has an average finish of 22.91 with an average start of 27.08. His last top-10 finish came in 2022 with Petty GMS Racing in their final year before the swap to Legacy Motor Club.
If Dillon has the check, then he’s going to race. For an organization that puts an emphasis on maximizing opportunity and going “trophy hunting” I’m just not sure it is the best decision from a competition standpoint.
There were rumors that Ty Dillon would be full-time for Kaulig Racing in the car Daniel Hemric is driving now. For whatever reason, Kaulig didn’t put Dillon in the car. Now it feels like Kaulig Racing isn’t sure what direction their Cup program is headed. This is the fifth team in five years Dillon has raced for in Cup.
Ty Dillon unimpressive in Truck Series so far
Speaking of results, what results has Ty Dillon had even in the Truck Series so far this year? He is piloting the Rackley WAR No. 25, Matt DiBenedetto’s old ride. On the year, Dillon has yet to finish in the top-10. His average finish is 21.2 so far this season.
Now, Dillon ran well at COTA. He was P11 on Saturday. But he’s in a truck that made the playoffs last season and won a race in the year before that. Matty D put up 12 top-10 finishes, two of those being top-5 finishes. Let’s not forget his Talladega win in 2022.
I say this to ask – what are we doing here? There are a ton of talented young drivers out there, and some of them even have funding behind them. Teams like Trackhouse, JGR, RCR, Spire, you could even argue Hendrick with Rajah Caruth – they have young talent and are developing young talent.
When you look at Kaulig Racing, it is hard to get a read on where they want to go and what they want to do with their race team. They have Shane van Gisbergen in Xfinity and Cup but he’s on loan from Trackhouse more or less. If you’re a Kaulig fan, does Ty Dillon make you excited about the future?
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