When asked the importance of winning one of the first two races so as to not need to rely on a decent finish at the wild card race of Talladega, Austin Dillon said that it’s important, but “you can still have a really good finish at Talladega.”
Speaking to the media this afternoon, the driver of the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet addressed the importance of winning either at Charlotte Motor Speedway or Kansas Speedway so as to not need to depend on a miracle run at the restrictor plate race of Talladega Superspeedway.
“I think it’s important, but I think you can still have a really good finish at Talladega,” Dillon said. “There is obviously a lot that goes into it with luck and what have you. But there are ways to be smart at Superspeedways and try if you are in a good point’s position when you get there. I mean a win obviously takes the pressure off, but you saw what we were able to do in the last round. I mean it’s got to be a tighter finishing average than what it took last round, but I still feel like with no points buffer from the guys that have won races you still got to be smart the next three races, the next two really.”
Since the introduction of the playoff format to the Chase in 2014, Talladega has served as the final race of the second round (Contender Round or Round of 12). In the last two years, the mantra amongst the drivers and teams in the Chase has been to get a win at either Charlotte or Kansas so you don’t have to sweat it out in the plate race.
Brad Keselowski came into Talladega in 2014 mathematically out of racing his way into the next round. The only way he could advance was with a win, and he did just that. This came at the expense of Kyle Busch, who was caught up in a late-race wreck, and three of the Hendrick drivers.
Last year, a wreck at the start/finish line on the restart with two laps to go prevented drivers like Matt Kenseth from advancing into the next round of the Chase.
Despite the risks, Dillon went on to say having the chance to win is a great feeling.
“Risking it for a win or just having a solid point’s day can make or break it,” he added. “It’s still a little bit of a risk if you have to go… if you’ve got the opportunity to win obviously it’s going to make you feel great. You can sit and relax when you get to Talladega. A good point’s day the next two weeks will also make you feel good going into Talladega.”
