Austin Dillon Discusses NCWTS Season, Sponsor
Dillon, grandson of legendary car owner Richard Childress and son of former driver Mike Dillon, embarks on his first full NCWTS season in 2010, and will chronicle his year in a weekly SPEEDtv.com driver diary beginning the week of Feb. 1. Following is a transcript from the NASCAR Race Hub interview:
Allen: That is a beautiful truck. How about that? Bass Pro Shops on board with you this season.
Dillon: Yeah, definitely. RCR and Johnny Morris of Bass Pro Shops have come together and put together a great deal for us this year. We’re really excited about 2010.
Allen: 25 races in the trucks … will Bass Pro Shops be on board with you all season?
Dillon: They’ve got the majority of the races and we’re still working out the rest of the season. I’m really excited and it’s something really close to me. I love hunting and fishing and getting outdoors. It’s going to be a good year, I think.
Allen: Your family has been synonymous with racing. Your grandfather was in the sport as a racer and your dad raced. Are you carrying the banner now for the family?
Dillon: Yeah, definitely. It was pretty cool – when I was younger I got to go watch them and now I’m getting to be out on the track with all these tracks and kind of keeping the family going, I guess.
Allen: How about the No. 3? We saw it on the track a couple of times in the Truck Series last year. Does the importance of the number sink in with you at only 19 years old?
Dillon: It’s a really fun number to run. It comes with a lot of background history. My grandfather got to run it and the man who made it famous was Dale Earnhardt. Mike Skinner ran it in the Truck Series and I got to race against Mike with it last year twice. It’s just a really good number to run. I love running the number, running the dirt series a few times. It’s just something close to me and my family.
Allen: How about the fact that you’re just 19? Who do you go to in the Truck garage – is there a guy or a group of people you can go to for advice?
Dillon: Yeah, definitely, any of these guys help you week in and week out. They’re really nice guys. Mike Skinner really helped me at the end of the year last year. Especially when we get to these tracks I’ve never been to, that’s going to be something I’m going to have to get used to – the learning experience. I haven’t gotten to run all the tracks. I’ve only got eight of the tracks we go to this year that I’ve been to, so I just have to pick up on it quick. I’ve got a good crew chief behind me and I’m really excited about that.
Allen: Your crew chief was the car chief for the championship team a year ago. So, will you rely a lot on his expertise in this series?
Dillon: Yeah, definitely. Danny Stockman I think is going to help us out a lot this year. He’s been to all the tracks multiple times and he’s ready to step it up and be a crew chief. We’re kind of a rookie with a rookie and my Grandpa always stressed to not have that but we work together well and we’re going to have some good chemistry together.
Allen: What kind of goals do you set for yourself? You were the Rookie of the Year in 2008 in the Camping World East Series. Is that a similar goal or are you looking for top 10s, top 15s? What is it you’re looking for?
Dillon: I think all our equipment and the guys we’ve put together this year, we’re good enough to run in the top five, top 10 every week. Winning Rookie of the Year is something we definitely want to do. I want to run top five in points this year and win some races. I’m really focused on that and I think it’s really possible.