Austin Dillon has enjoyed
Daytona 500 win revs up his life, but he seeks more success
memorable moments since winning the Daytona 500, but he and other Chevrolet drivers have yet to record another win this NASCAR season.
The scene from Austin Dillon’s rear-view mirror was a thing of beauty.
The sight in front of the 27-year-old — one of Daytona 500 victory — was even sweeter.
“It’s kind of like a dream,” Dillon recalled Thursday, two days prior to Saturday night’s Coke Zero Sugar 400. “You come to the checkered flag and all you see is people behind you and nothing in front of you.”
Much ultimately would lay ahead for the reigning 500 champion.
This past February’s win reestablished the No. 3 Chevrolet famously driven by the late Dale Earnhardt and carried Dillon to another level in a sport that is in his blood.
The grandson of iconic team owner Richard Childress, Dillon left Victory Lane for the whirlwind tour that accompanies the winner of NASCAR’s Super Bowl.
An interview at the New York Stock Exchange expanded his mind while a TV appearance on Kelly and Ryan tested Dillon’s nerves. Ditto spearheading the seventh-inning stretch recently at Wrigley Field.
“Anytime you get nervous about certain things, you know it’s a big deal,” Dillon said. “It feels good to do that stuff. It was fun. There have been a lot of great things with the 500 win.”
The biggest deal, literally, was meeting basketball legend
Shaquille O’Neal, who at 7-foot-1 dwarfed the 5-foot-8 Dillon.
“I sat in a room that was like a really small radio room and he was piled into the corner of it,” Dillon joked. “And he wrapped his hand around mine twice when I shook it. It was cool hanging out with him because I’ve always been a great fan of him.”
But the obvious benefit from Dillon’s win — just his second at NASCAR’s top level — has yet to materialize.
The Daytona 500 is supposed to serve as the tablesetter for a special season. Instead, Dillon has been stuck in neutral along with the rest of the drivers in the struggling Chevrolet Camaro.
The impressive stable includes seven-time Cup series winner Jimmie Johnson and up-and-comers Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson, but only Dillon has drawn the checkered flag in 2018 driving a Chevy.
By this time last year, Chevrolet had won seven NASCAR Monster Energy Cup races in the now-discontinued Australian-built Chevrolet SS.
“Very surprised,” Dillon said. “There was a lot going into this season. A lot of people were pumped up about the Chevy Camaro and we haven’t delivered the wins that we thought our camp would this year as far as that goes.”
Larson nearly did last week in Chicago, but lost to Kyle Busch in a wild finish. Each driver bumped the other one’s car during the final lap, with Busch delivering the final blow before sprinting past Larson for the win.
“I wasn’t upset at any point when I was sliding through [Turns] 3 and 4 or anything like that,” Larson said Thursday. “I was cool with everything.”
Dillon said Larson’s close call was a step forward for the Camaro. During practice sessions this week, 10 cars have topped 200 mph, including three Chevrolets.
Heading into today’s qualifying rounds, Dillon’s top-end speed is 199.305. This places him 17th and in the middle of the pack in the 40-car field.
Few drivers, though, return to Daytona International Speedway with more positive vibes. Besides the life-changing February win, Dillon has many fond memories from the hallowed grounds that nurtured stock car racing.
“I feel like I’ve been coming here since I was born,” he said. “It’s like a second home to me. I know a lot of people here and I even come back for Easter most of the time.
“I always enjoy coming down here and have the opportunity to have a chance to win a race.”
Yet the unpredictable nature of restrictor-plate racing offers opportunity to pretty much every car in the field. Dillon led only the final lap during the 500, following a bold move to knock Aric Almirola out of the way and clear a path to victory.
With the playoffs nine races away and drivers growing increasingly desperate for a spot, Dillon expects to see drivers taking similar chances. He hopes he is among them.
“I’d say this race weekend is probably going to be one of the most aggressive you see,” Dillon said. “Everybody has an opportunity this weekend that they don’t get every other weekend, and if you’re in that position then, yeah — you’re going to do crazy things to make it happen.
“I’ll be doing the same.”