Austin Dillon eyes Daytona 500 history in No.3 car | Sports News

Austin Dillon remembers being in Victory Lane right here at Daytona International Speedway as a seven-year-old.

“Dale Earnhardt winning,” he says with a glint of nostalgia in his eye. “Going to Victory Lane, doing the hat dance.” 

“It’s a good time of year,” he provides. 

Fast ahead almost three many years, and Dillon’s week has again been spent on the infield of the two-and-a-half-mile superspeedway, the ‘World Home of Racing’.

That’s simply the best way it has all the time been at this time of yr, because of his grandad, group proprietor Richard Childress.

“I just enjoyed coming here,” he says. “Every time I roll through the tunnel, I still get fired up.” 

Dillon is aware of that there’s one thing highly effective about this place. 

“Daytona has a weird way of creating storylines and putting you in some places,” he says. 

Could this yr, 25 years on from the death of Dale Earnhardt, driving his grandad’s No.3 car that’s now in his posession, be the yr it throws up one other? 

“It’d be very special,” he says, earlier than pointing to the actual fact his teammate, Kyle Busch, driving the No.8 car as soon as related carefully with Dale Earnhardt Jr, would be the one beginning the race from the pole.

“I think it’s pretty cool that Kyle (Busch) has been trying for 20 years and he got the pole. It’s just a historic place, and this place just always seems to create memories.”

The household love affair with Daytona has not been with out its heartbreak. Three years after celebrating in Victory Lane, Dillon remembers seeing these round him crushed by the death of Earnhardt on that fateful day 25 years in the past. 

He remembers the 1000’s of flowers being laid throughout the race store by adoring followers. He remembers the ache and anguish round him. 

“It was a hard time for everyone because Dale touched so many and was a hero for so many,” he says. “I just knew at that time that a hero was lost. 

“I think when you’re that young, it’s hard to comprehend what’s going on. But you could just see people that you look up to that were very hurt and sad.”

17 years later, Dillon received the well-known No.3 back to Victory Lane in the Daytona 500. It was the following chapter of the love affair, one which gave him a new appreciation for this place.

“Especially after winning the 500, you start to really just enjoy every opportunity you get here,” Dillon says. “It’s a blessing to be able to compete in this race, be a part of it and get the opportunity to win.

“I get fired up, man. It’s a huge opportunity to win the world’s biggest race.” 

What wouldn’t it imply to do it again? 

“Well, to become a two-time Daytona 500 champion? There’s not many people that can say they’ve done that,” Dillon says. 

“There’s a small group who have won it. But to win it multiple times? That’d be very cool.” 

The legacy of Earnhardt means the No.3 is outstanding at Daytona, as it’s at tracks across the nation. That’s a legacy which Dillon carries with satisfaction, realizing if he hits the entrance there will probably be a roar across the sold-out Daytona grandstands.  

“I’m very fortunate for it,” he says. “A lot of fans support it. I want to go out there and run well with it and stack some wins behind the No.3.

“Any time it gets out front, especially at these speedways, it seems to fire the fans up.” 

Dillon’s final journey to Victory Lane in Richmond final yr marked the tip of a tumultuous and controversial chapter in his journey.

Hiis earlier win on the similar observe noticed him kicked out of the playoffs for the transfer to win the race. This time round, there was no doubt. 

“I think it was closure on the whole Richmond deal,” he displays. 

“Being able to go back there, prove ourselves, prove how good we were at that track. Would like to win some other places now, try and get a couple more wins this year.” 

After a powerful few years by their high requirements, Richard Childress Racing has come firing out of the blocks at Daytona, because it so usually does as an group. 

Dillon describes their prospects as “really exciting”, including: “I think there’s some good moves made in the offseason for RCR”. 

Now 35, and along with his granddad turning 80 final yr, he appears with a curious eye, realizing that his own future is intertwined along with his own race group. 

He says: “I think I look at every part of our organization, RCR, the future and how bright it is and I definitely want to be part of it. Help in any way possible.

“I think that right now the best way I can help is as a race car driver. So I’m focused on driving race cars and just trying to put the best possible performance on the track each and every weekend.”

This yr, bringing their best on a weekly foundation is more important than ever, with a return to The Chase format putting more onus on consistency as soon as again. 

“I think it is a little bit of a reset,” Dillon says. “But it’s another year. You’ve got to go out there and be consistently fast each and every weekend.

“It’s going to be a dogfight, and I think the true champion is going to be crowned at Homestead. And we all love Homestead.”