Austin Dillon Optimistic About Chances in Double-Duty Weekend

Austin Dillon heads into this weekend's action at Charlotte Motor Speedway, where he'll be driving double-duty in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Cup Series with gobs of confidence. The 35-year-old driver is excited to make his first NASCAR Xfinity Series start since the 2023 season as he'll get to slide behind what should be a race-win contending vehicle, the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.

And while the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Cup Series cars aren't comparable, Dillon hopes that a good run on Saturday's 300-mile event can help him carry momentum into Sunday's Coca-Cola 600.

"I'm just excited to get in an Xfinity car, an RCR Xfinity car, especially. You know, they've been pretty fast this season, and they've always been known for ECR Engines. So, I'm pumped to get behind the No. 3 Xfinity car, and have some fun at a place I've had some success at in the Xfinity Series," Dillon said in a media availability on Friday. "Hopefully, I can bring something to Jesse [Love] and Austin [Hill] this weekend on Saturday, and that also gives me some momentum for Sunday."

Dillon, who scored his first career NASCAR Cup Series win in the Coca-Cola 600 in 2017, says he started earlier than usual race weeks in his bid to mentally and physically prepare for the toll of 900 miles at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

"So, this weekend, obviously, I've got the 600 and the laps on Saturday. I Definitely started a little bit earlier, preparing during the week with my food, my hydration. Doing my job to know that I'll be prepared for both days," Dillon explained. "And kind of just building up to that on Sunday. Because you know you have not only 600 miles, but that morning is pretty busy throughout the day with meetings with sponsors and our partners who come to this race. Because it's very important to a lot of our partners."

Dillon has fond memories from that 2017 Coca-Cola 600 victory as he remembers the cat and mouse game he played with Jimmie Johnson battling for the win, while also balancing a dwindling fuel load in the closing laps.

"I remember the final restart and Justin Alexander just saying, 'Hey, look we need to do a good job saving [gas] here. Go as much as you can, but in the back of your mind, be thinking about saving because it could go green, and that could be our shot," Dillon recalled. "Jimmie Johnson passed me at the beginning of the run, and I paced myself off of Jimmie.

"He went a little harder for the first quarter of the run, which ended up being the race to the end, was myself and Jimmie. I remember watching so many laps down in Turn 1 of Jimmie Johnson dominating the competition here, and he had a distinct line of how he wrapped the exit of Turn 2. And as we're both trying to save fuel and race to the end, it was just like, 'Oh my gosh, is this actually happening?' And then, off of Turn 2, a corner I always loved watching him run, he ran out of gas, and we blew by, and then it was just two more laps, three more laps that I needed to keep it in gear and we were able to come home and get a victory and celebrate with all of our friends and family here in Charlotte, which was awesome."

Winning the Coca-Cola 600 was a big deal for Dillon, but the driver still laments a wasted opportunity in the 2022 edition of the event, where he felt he had positioned himself perfectly to capture a second win in NASCAR's longest race.

"I was very close to being a two-time champion of this race. Wrecked off of Turn 4. In that race, we weren't the fastest car, we got tires at the right time, I made a heck of a restart through [Turns] 1 and 2, and I tried to get too much through [Turns] 3 and 4, and it all broke loose off of 4 over there," Dillon stated. "The 11, myself, and the 5. Looking back, that's one of the ones I kick myself over. Like, when you think of races over time, that's the one. Because I think if I would have given up a car length, and wrapped Turn 4, I would have had four tires to make it work through [Turns] 1 and 2 for one more lap. That's one that was so close. But you know, hopefully get that opportunity again, and we capitalize on it."

Dillon has always had a knack for bringing his a-game in the sport's biggest races, evidenced by his victory in the 2018 Daytona 500. Dillon says the biggest part of the equation to finishing first in a crown jewel event, is simply finishing the race.

"I feel like, as a driver, I've always given myself shots at these big races to be in the hunt. Even if we're a 15th-place car, I do a pretty good job of trying to get to the end of these things," Dillon explained. "Getting to the end is almost a top 10 here, automatically. When I say that, you have to do a good job throughout the race to be on the lead lap and do your job. But if you give me a car that is a top 10 car to start the weekend, I feel like our odds are much greater. So, that's what we need to be focused on. We unload for practice, and qualify good, it's going to put us in a really good spot."

While Dillon knows his cars have been much faster this season, which led to three consecutive top 10 finishes prior to Kansas Speedway a couple of weeks ago, the driver knows there is still a learning process ongoing in communication between him and his new crew chief, Richard Boswell.

"I think in the offseason, we did a good job of bringing a better product to the track. I think from an urgency standpoint, there's more urgency within both teams. I think my team, especially, has done a good job with the urgency of how we go about things," Dillon boasted. "And then communication from myself to [crew chief Richard] Boswell has been decent, but we're still learning. So, there's still a little bit of that going on."

While Dillon and Boswell are still figuring each other out, the driver feels the process is going faster and smoother than what he's experienced in the past with a brand new crew chief.

"I'd say we are figuring each other out as we go, but probably one of the fastest figuring it out that I've been a part of," Dillon said. "So, it's a good pace compared to when I've had a different crew chief or whatnot. But it's just a balance."

Dillon, who says he is encouraged that he has had the ability to make more passes this season than the last three years, feels his No. 3 team is on the verge of unlocking the potential to find victory lane. Over the last few weeks, the driver has just been frustrated a little bit by the handling on his race car.

"I get frustrated a little bit because I know the race car is capable now with the speed we're bringing, I at least feel that way. But the car will be handling just a couple of numbers off of what it needs to be," Dillon noted. "And I can see the group of cars that I need to be in, and I can't get there because I'm either too loose -- mostly been too loose, truthfully.

"We've missed on the loose side probably for the last two or three weeks. And the other week at Kansas, we had three straight top 10s, and we get to Kansas, and I'm running like 15th, and I'm frustrated because we're still too loose. And I came on the radio, and I'm like, 'Guys, I've been patient with the car balance,' and in their mind, they're like, 'We finished top 10 the last three weeks, what do you mean you've been patient? It's been good,' but, it's just right here."

Could this be the weekend that Dillon and Boswell unlock the door to the next level of competition? Dillon feels confident heading into his hometown track.

"Yeah, the momentum from this whole year, I feel good about coming here. I think we can have a good weekend," Dillon stated.

If Dillon and the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing team can find victory lane on Sunday night in the Coca-Cola 600, Dillon says the win would mean more to him than most. While a Coca-Cola 600 win holds the same benefit as every other win on the schedule, there's just something about winning at your hometown track that makes things more special.

"I mean, it means a little more than the rest," Dillon said. "I mean, all of them mean a lot. They take you to the Playoffs, every win matters. But this one, this is home. We want to win at home. If our PBR team is playing there, we want to win our home game. This is a home match, so, we want to win this."

The NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway is set for Sunday, May 25. That race will be televised on the Prime Video streaming service and coverage will kick off at 6:00 PM ET.

Recommended Articles