Ty Dillon took to social media to announce that he will not be returning to Petty GMS Motorsports at the conclusion of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season, thus placing himself on the free agency list for the upcoming season.
The 30-year-old Dillon from Welcome, North Carolina, commenced this season by joining Petty GMS Motorsports, a newly merged team between Richard Petty Motorsports and GMS Racing as the driver of the No. 42 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Through the first 19 of 36-scheduled events, Dillon’s best on-track result has been a 10th-place run at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Course in April. To go along with a total of nine top-20 results and an average-finishing result of 21.6, he is currently in 27th place in the drivers’ standings and trails the cutoff to make the 2022 Cup Playoffs by 213 points.
The 2022 Cup season marks Dillon’s first full-time campaign in NASCAR’s premier series since 2020, where Dillon had spent four seasons competing for Germain Racing. When Germain Racing ceased operations following the 2020 season, Dillon ended up competing in a total of four Cup events in 2021 for Gaunt Brothers Racing.
Through 185 previous Cup starts, Dillon has achieved two top-five results, seven top-10 results, 75 laps led and an average-finishing result of 22.0.
Petty GMS Motorsports also issued a statement through social media regarding Dillon’s announcement.
Petty GMS Motorsports also fields a second car, the No. 43 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, that is currently being piloted by Erik Jones. Plans for Jones and the team’s driver lineup for next season are yet to be determined.
With his racing plans for next season unknown, Dillon continues his pursuit to make the 2022 Cup Series Playoffs by competing in this weekend’s event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The event is scheduled to occur on Sunday, July 17, at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network.