Austin Dillon is seeking to advance to the Round of 12 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs following a challenging race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Starting from the tail of the field was a setback for a driver confident in the speed of his car.
“We definitely had a No. 3 DOWFROST Camaro ZL1 that was capable of running in the top five today at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. We gave up a lot of track position throughout the day, not just from starting in the back, but we really struggled on pit stops. I felt like I got all I could out of it,” Dillon said.
Dillon surely benefited after several of the Playoff drivers were involved in various issues all day long.
Following an 11th place finish, Richmond Raceway can be the setting stone is determining his advancement into the next round. Despite all the silly season chatter surrounding his team, his focus is on making a deep run in this year’s Playoffs.
Of course, a win would seal the deal, but a great run can give him some space to breathe going into the Roval at Charlotte.
The driver of the Richard Childress Racing No. 3 Dow Camaro ZL1 locked himself into the Playoffs early in the year with a thrilling Daytona 500 victory. Since then, he has been positioning himself as the dark horse of this year’s edition of the Playoffs.
The confidence is there for the young driver to surprise many in the next nine weeks.
“I will take the dark horse role. Anything can happen. We show up at times and people least expect it,” Dillon said.
Richmond will certainly be a battle. Qualifying is important in Richmond as Dillon looks to improve in that aspect. Starting 23rd in the spring showed his struggle all weekend with the car.
Dillon currently sits in 10th place in the Playoff standings with 9 points above the cutoff.
Competition is starting to heat up as the Playoffs continue. A disastrous race can end the young driver’s run to capture the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship.
