RCR's Austin Dillon gains valuable experience participating in Truck race at Iowa
NEWTON, Iowa – Richard Childress Racing driver Austin Dillon has a pretty big adjustment to make in this weekend’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Iowa Speedway.
For starters, he has to figure out what he’s driving.
“It’s getting used to the car – I mean, the truck,” Dillon said Friday. “Sorry, I keep saying car.”
You can forgive the young Dillon, for he’s driven cars at the 7/8ths-mile track as often as anyone. Dillon drove in the inaugural Nationwide Series race here in early August for RCR, and he’s back in an RCR Chevrolet for the Truck race.
“The difference between the car and the truck here is you have to drive harder [in the truck] because you have so much downforce,” Dillon said. “I got behind [Ron] Hornaday earlier, and that helped a little bit. There’s a different line. You can actually arc the corner a little bit. It’s a lot of fun.”
Dillon was 13th fastest in opening Truck practice and moved up to sixth on the speed charts during the second session on Friday. Dillon did not participate in the third practice session, but again finished sixth in final practice.
Dillon is driving RCR’s No. 3, a number made famous by Dale Earnhardt, who drove for the team for most of his prosperous years in NASCAR. Dillon is the grandson of RCR founder Richard Childress and the son of RCR Competition Director Mike Dillon.
RCR ran the No. 3 in the Truck series for several years, with Mike Skinner the original driver.
“It’s very, very special,” Skinner said of seeing the No. 3 back on a Truck. “It’s special in my heart. Richard Childress and I are still great friends today. I would’ve been terribly upset if he would’ve just gone out and got a driver and stuck it in that truck and showed back up with it.
“Austin, I’ve watched him grow up, and he’s just done a fantastic job. I’m a big fan of his. It’s just perfect that it’s done this way.”
Dillon has used the number in other series, so he’s used to having the pressure of racing with one of the sport’s most famous numbers.
“I guess we got a Truck earlier this year,” Dillon said. “We thought about it and we had the number, and it would just be a good opportunity to go out and run it and debut it here.”
Skinner hopes to see more of RCR and Dillon in the series, despite the team pulling out of the series in 1999
“We’ve got to get dad and grandpa to go out and get a sponsor so he can run this thing the whole season next year,” Skinner said. “That’d be awesome.”
