Dillon enjoys family support, experience in Nationwide debut

By Bob Pockrass - Associate Editor
Sunday, September 07, 2008
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David Griffin
NASCAR Scene

RICHMOND, Va. – Austin Dillon wasn’t lacking in people with racing experience on his radio when he made his Nationwide Series debut in the Richmond race.
   
He had his father, Mike Dillon, who had 154 career starts in the series, as well as grandfather Richard Childress talking in his ear.
   
Childress said he tried not to talk much during Austin Dillon’s  debut, where he started 31st and finished 26th.
   
“I just said something once or twice – I let Mike talk to him,” Childress said. “He did good for us all talking to him. I was really, really
proud of him.”
   
The 18-year-old Dillon got a pit-road speeding penalty early in the race and then got into an accident with Steve Wallace. He ended up two laps down.
   
“It was not bad,” Dillon said. “I wish I could have had a better finishing place. A penalty on pit road really killed our momentum. After
that, we couldn’t get going back forward. Other than that, I got to run against some really good cars and race hard. I think I gained the respect of some guys.”
   
The plan is for Austin Dillon to run select races this year and next year before possibly going full time in the Nationwide Series in 2010. He currently is running full time in the NASCAR Camping World East Series.
   
“He raced hard,” Childress said. “He made a couple of mistakes on pit road – that’s the first time he’s pitted. All in all, he did great for his
first time.”
   
Dillon said he is looking forward to more Nationwide races.
   
“Hopefully we’ll come back next time and be a little more prepared – I know I will,’ he said. “I knew it was going to be tough because definitely I have less experience. It was a good race all in all and I had a lot of fun.”

Comments

4 responses to "Dillon enjoys family support, experience in Nationwide debut". Post a Comment.
  1. 1
    beth emerson said:
    Sep 9, 2008 at 7:57 AM

    I dont think this kid is going to do well. I dont care about him being Childress grandson. He had best not drive the 3 car.
    I am starting to loose alot of respect for Childress. I believe family comes first. You also need to have smarts when you own a team. Big mistake with this kid. He isnt any better than his dad was.

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  2. 2
    Lindsey Jacobs said:
    Sep 9, 2008 at 1:03 PM

    He's 18 years old. Not everyone is going to be like Joey Logano. Get off the high horse and cut the kid some slack. It was his first time, and I'm guessing it was a lot better than most of us would do.

    And losing respect for Childress? Because he put his grandson in a car? At leat he didn't immediately throw him in the Cup Series. Richard is being very careful with his grandson's career, making sure that he gets seat time in the lower series before letting him run full time in the Nationwide series. I think that is something that should earn him some respect.

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  3. 3
    Andrew Briscoe said:
    Sep 9, 2008 at 7:32 PM

    I missed the Nationwide race unfortunately so I missed his debut. I was looking forward to it too.

    I do want to say that not everyone is a Logano and Earnhardt and can win in anything they drive.

    I hope he comes up full time in 2009, not 2010. That, I think at least, is going to be too long to wait.

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  4. 4
    judy dove said:
    Nov 3, 2008 at 9:53 PM

    Ok austin is 18 and he is one of my friends so don't say that bout him do u even now why he picked that # is becaues the was childress # when he won the nationwide series ok .and he is will be big when he grows up

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