Don’t discount Austin Dillon in NASCAR playoffs. He’s off to a speedy start.
Before the postseason started, the narrative around Austin Dillon’s run in the 2020 NASCAR Cup playoffs was one that doubted how far Dillon and his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing team would go. Coming off a second-place finish at Darlington last weekend, then running in the top-three at Richmond for most of Saturday’s race, that could change.
At least, it should, according to the driver. He said he’s never doubted himself.
“My whole goal since I’ve been in the Cup Series is trying to win a Cup championship,” Dillon said.
Only two races into the playoffs, it’s early to speculate whether Dillon will be a name in the Championship 4, but he’s already putting together a postseason that’s shaking up some brackets.
Dillon led Saturday’s short track race five times in each of the three stages. He finished fourth after missing pit road late in the race, which cost him track position winding down to the checkered flag, but his Chevrolet was one of the fastest cars on the track. He finished second in the first two stages.
“That car was pretty impressive tonight,” Dillon said. “So definitely could’ve finished second and had a shot at (race winner) Brad (Keselowski) I feel like. We weren’t that great in the short run, but long run speed, I don’t think anybody had much for us.”
Keselowski said he thought both RCR cars looked competitive.
“The 8 car, Tyler Reddick, (the) last run of the race (he) was right in front of me, and he was exceptional,” Keselowski said. “He looked like one of the best cars on the track. Early in the race, I thought the same thing about Austin.”
Between Cup rookie Reddick, who has earned seven top-10s this season, and Dillon, the two Childress teams have made a splash among the larger teams of Penske, Stewart-Haas, Joe Gibbs and Hendrick. Dillon is the highest-ranked of the three playoff drivers not on one of those four teams. He is sixth in points (+36), while Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kurt Busch is in 11th (+7) and Wood Brothers Racing’s Matt DiBenedetto is in jeopardy of missing the next round in 15th (-25).
Dillon said the presence of two-time Xfinity Series champion Reddick and the addition of Justin Alexander as his team’s new crew chief has helped elevate the organization this season. The No. 3 team won the race at Texas Motor Speedway during the regular season to secure his spot in the Round of 16. Reddick finished second that race.
“We have two drivers that are fired up and it’s cool to see,” Dillon said. “Shoot, I don’t know what else. I feel confident that we can go a long way.”
But Dillon said that beyond organizational success, he’s achieved personal milestones this year. He turned 30 in April. In June, Dillon and his wife, Whitney, welcomed their first child, a baby boy named Ace.
“I’m in a good spot right now,” Dillon said. “My family is doing well and it’s cool having a son at home, and I feel like I’ve matured at a driver and I’m in that age zone where things start clicking a little bit.”
DiBenedetto, 29, is another playoff driver who’s had one of his best years despite posting worse recent finishes. Team Penske’s Joey Logano, 30, has also said before the playoffs that he feels like the year has felt similar to his championship season in 2018. Dillon said he’s hit an age where “stuff starts coming to (him) really well.”
“It’s a good time right now for me and the 3 team and everybody at RCR,” Dillon said.
He’s also no stranger to the postseason. Dillon is making his fourth playoff appearance in his seventh year of full-time Cup racing, but he has yet to get past the Round of 12, which he called a “crapshoot” with races at Las Vegas, Talladega and the Charlotte Road Course. The unknowns of the road course and superspeedway are why Dillon’s finishes are so critical now. He’s doing exactly what he needs to in order to break through the Round of 12 barrier on points. Dillon jumped from a 10th place ranking (2,005 points) before the playoffs to sixth place (2,094) after two races.
He said he’s not letting off the gas.
“I want to smile. I want to be happy,” Dillon after Richmond. “But it’s one of those things (where) I want to take advantage of it. I want to win races.”
While Dillon described the next round as challenging, he said he’s circled races at Martinsville and Texas in the Round of 8 as spots where the team could perform well, and potentially lock up a win. That would put Dillon in the Championship 4 in a one-race shootout for the title for the first time.
He said he feels like he “owes it” to his team to make it further this year, and that his confidence level is only building with his recent performance.
“The more opportunities you get up front, you start feeling comfortable up there,” Dillon said. “And the confidence just keeps growing and you expect to be up there and you drive to that caliber.”
But confidence, Dillon said, is something he’s had his entire career, even if others don’t see the same potential.
“Been through some ups and downs and kinda weathered the storm to this point,” Dillon said, adding that when he has good equipment to work with, he can “perform with it and make it happen.”
These playoff races are proving just that.
This story was originally published September 13, 2020 at 8:30 AM.
