Austin Dillon said at the beginning of the year that he wanted to be more aggressive and run towards the front to put himself into contention for the Championship. The sophomore competitor wouldn’t get to do to that on Sunday as tire issues would plague his run towards the front of the field.
On lap 46, Dillon would lose a tire, leaving debris down the backstretch as he headed to pit road. The caution would fly for the debris as he reached pit road. With Dillon not being the direct cause of the caution, he would receive the lucky dog to get back on the lead lap.
The tire coming apart would cause damage to the rear of Dillon’s car, resulting in a second tire failure going down on lap 60. He wouldn’t be so fortunate this time as he went for a spin and made minimal contact with the wall, before spinning into the grass. Spinning the right rear flat tire trying to get out of the mud with the rain earlier in the day would bring further damage to the rear of the car, resulting in Dillon having to go behind the wall for numerous laps for repairs and a car bath.
“Wow, that was definitely not the day we were hoping for but I am so proud of everyone on the Dow Chevrolet team for their hard work today,” Dillon commented afterwards. “We really worked together as a team this weekend. Our goal is to get a win this year, and we will get there. I know it, we just have to stay focused.”
Following a pair of incidents in the first two events of the season, he now sits 25th in points.
