Derek Kraus causes early wreck on Lap 6 collecting Austin Dillon, Austin Cindric at Phoenix

This year has been tough for Austin Dillon. Last season he led the Cup Series in DNFs. So far, he’s already been involved in wrecks during three races in the first four events of the season. You cannot build momentum and a successful season this way. Just can’t.

Eventually, AD is going to have to start qualifying better so he can avoid these incidents in the back of the pack. When you consider these cars were fighting around P30, it makes the situation more disappointing, ultimately.

Austin Dillon on the track with damage

Early on in this one, Austin Dillon is already three laps down and it could get much worse throughout the day. It’s great that he’s not out of the race, being on track is always better than not being on track. It’s going to be a long day for the No. 3 team though.

Finishes of P37, P22, and P16 this season in the first three races, Dillon needs to get something going again. This is a former Daytona 500 winner, former Coca-Cola 600 winner. The results in the last few years just have not been there.

Richard Childress Racing wants to be a championship organization. They have Kyle Busch in the No. 8 car, which is great. He’s got a lot more races left in him and can compete at a high level for them. He’s been able to qualify the cars very well, despite issues on pit road that have cost him on race day.

Eventually, RCR has to give Busch a teammate who can match his intensity on the race track. A teammate that he can count on to run well when he runs well. Right now, Austin Dillon struggles in qualifying and struggles on the track.