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Dillon hopeful in return to Superspeedway




NASCAR Cup Series driver Austin Dillon walks to his car before a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., on May 30, 2021.Nell Redmond/Associated Press File

NASCAR Cup Series driver Austin Dillon walks to his car before a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., on May 30, 2021.Nell Redmond/Associated Press File

Austin Dillon hopes to pick up right where he left off a decade ago at Nashville Superspeedway: with a trip to Victory Lane.

The Gladeville track has been shuttered ever since Dillon won the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race en route to the division championship in 2011 and finished third in the Xfinity Series race the following night.

But racing finally returns to Nashville this Father’s Day weekend, highlighted by Sunday’s Ally 400 — the first NASCAR Cup race in 37 years at the historic Nashville Fairgrounds track. A sellout crowd of 38,000 is expected for Sunday’s race, which begins at 2:30 p.m. on NBCSN.

“I do feel good about (his chances of winning),” said Dillon, 31, who drives the historic No. 3 car owned by his Hall of Fame grandfather, Richard Childress. “Obviously, we won the last Truck race there and ran third in the last Xfinity race there, so pumped. We’ll have an opportunity to go put on a show for everyone that comes to watch.

 

 

“You know, I think I can probably rekindle some of the things that made me good there a long time ago. … Ten years ago. But I did get to do some Cup testing as well. I think I know what makes a car go fast there. We’ve just got to go out there and make it happen.”

Dillon’s career résumé is full of make-it-happen moments. In 2010, the North Carolina native was the Truck Series Rookie of the Year. He won the Xfinity Series Rookie of the Year honor in 2012 and that division’s championship in 2013.

Now, Dillon is hungry to add a Cup Series championship to his résumé. He has qualified four times for NASCAR’s playoffs. The top 16 drivers in the Cup Series qualify for the playoffs, and Dillon is currently 12th in the standings heading to Nashville.

“That’s my ultimate goal — to win a championship in all three divisions. I feel like this year we’re closer than we’ve been in years past. We’ve got a lot of speed, and we just want to keep developing that throughout the year,” Dillon said of the playoffs, which conclude Nov. 7 at Phoenix Raceway.

“First off, we’ve got to lock ourselves in. We’re 12th in points right now — a good place in points, but we could always be better. We’re just going to keep working hard, and I’d love nothing more to go to Phoenix with the chance to win a championship.”

Nashville serves as a midpoint in the NASCAR season and marks the beginning of the NBC portion of NASCAR’s schedule. Fox aired the first 16 races, and NBC has the rest. There are 10 races remaining before the playoffs begin Sept. 5 at Darlington Raceway.

“Things are starting to tighten up, and you just want to put yourself in the best position you can before the playoffs start,” Dillon said. “I think we’re in a good spot, but we would definitely like a win before that timeframe, and that’s what we’re working toward.”

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