Austin Dillon is primed to achieve a milestone in his 11th full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series. By competing in this weekend’s Cup Playoff event at Watkins Glen International, the driver of the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing (RCR) Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will make his 400th career start in NASCAR’s premier series.
A native of Welcome, North Carolina, Dillon made his inaugural start in the Cup Series at Kansas Speedway in October 2011. At the time, he was campaigning in his second full-time season in the Craftsman Truck Series for Richard Childress Racing after clinching the Rookie of the Year title in 2010. Driving the No. 98 Chevrolet Impala for Curb Racing, Dillon finished 26th in his first Cup event.
The following two seasons, Dillon competed full-time in the Xfinity Series for RCR, where he achieved the 2012 Xfinity Series’ Rookie of the Year title before notching the drivers’ championship a year later. During the two-year stint, he made 12 Cup Series starts, his first occurring at Michigan International Speedway in June 2012 as he piloted RCR’s No. 33 Chevrolet to a 24th-place finish. The remaining 11 Cup starts occurred in 2013, with his first being the 55th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway as he finished 31st.
In total, Dillon made five Cup starts with RCR, four with Phoenix Racing and two with Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) as an interim competitor for the injured three-time Cup champion Tony Stewart. Within the starts, he notched a season-best 11th-place finish at Michigan in June with RCR and a 14th-place run at Michigan in August with SHR. At Talladega Superspeedway in October, Dillon, who was driving the No. 14 SHR Chevrolet SS, was running in third place on the final lap when he slipped sideways off the front nose of Ricky Stenhouse Jr., came back across the track in the backstretch and was sent airborne after being rammed by Casey Mears, with the result dropping Dillon to 26th place in the final running order.
Less than a month after winning the 2013 Xfinity Series title, Dillon was announced as a full-time Cup Series competitor in RCR’s No. 3 Chevrolet SS for the 2014 season, which marked the return of the No. 3 in NASCAR’s premier series for the first time since the 2001 Daytona 500, last piloted by the late seven-time NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt.
Dillon commenced his rookie Cup season on a strong note by securing the pole position for the 56th running of the Daytona 500, which was his first in the series, and becoming both the fourth competitor to place a No. 3 entry and the fifth rookie candidate on the pole for the Great American Race. During the main event, Dillon, who led the opening lap, rallied after being involved in a late multi-car wreck to record his first top-10 result in the series with a ninth-place finish. He would then finish no higher than 11th three times during his next 16 starts before securing his first top-five result in the form of a fifth-place finish at Daytona in July.
With only an additional top-10 result, being a 10th-place run at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July, occurring in the final eight regular-season events, Dillon was unable to qualify for the 2014 Cup Series Playoffs. He would proceed to finish no higher than eighth during the final 10 events on the schedule before settling in 20th place in the final standings and the runner-up spot behind Kyle Larson for the Rookie-of-the-Year title. Overall, Dillon achieved a single pole, one top-five result, four top-10 results, 10 laps led and an average-finishing result of 17.5 during his first full-time Cup Series season.
Dillon’s sophomore Cup season in 2015 was mired with a harrowing final lap accident at Daytona in July, where his car went airborne after colliding with a spinning Denny Hamlin. He flew over four competitors and smashed upside-down into the frontstretch’s catchfence before the car came back on the speedway on the roof and was hit by a spinning Brad Keselowski before coming to a rest on the roof. Amid the wild wreck that ripped the engine out of the No. 3 car, Dillon, who managed to finish seventh before the wreck, emerged uninjured as he only sustained a bruised tailbone and a bruised forearm.
The Daytona result would serve as one of Dillon’s five total top-10 results he earned throughout the 2015 Cup season, with his best on-track result being a fourth-place finish at Michigan International Speedway in August after leading 19 laps. After missing the Playoffs, Dillon settled in 21st place in the final standings with an average-finishing result of 21.0.
Like his rookie Cup season, Dillon commenced his junior Cup Series season with a ninth-place result during the 58th running of the Daytona 500. Two races later, he recorded a strong fifth-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March followed by a ninth-place run at Phoenix Raceway before notching his second Cup career pole at Auto Club Speedway, an event where he would finish 24th. Nabbing three additional top-five results and a total of six top-10 results during the final 21 regular-season events, Dillon was able to race his way into his first career Cup Series Playoffs based on points.
After finishing 14th, 16th and eighth throughout the Round of 16, Dillon transferred into the Round of 12. With respective finishes of 32nd, sixth and ninth throughout the Round of 12, however, he did not transfer to the Round of 8 amid a tie-breaker against Denny Hamlin. Scoring his second pole of the season at Texas Motor Speedway in November, Dillon finished no higher than 12th during the final four events on the schedule before settling in 14th place in the final standings. Overall, Dillon achieved two poles, four top-five results, a career-high 13 top-10 results, 17 laps led and an average finishing result of 15.9. He had also surpassed 100 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series.
Dillon began the 2017 Cup Series season with a 19th-place finish during the 59th running of the Daytona 500. Then after managing only one top-five finish during the first 11 events on the schedule, he scored his first Cup career victory in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May after overtaking seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson with two laps remaining and having enough fuel to coast his No. 3 Chevrolet across the finish line ahead of Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr.
With the victory, Dillon became the 188th different competitor to win a Cup Series event and the seventh to notch a first Cup victory in the Coke 600. It was the first victory for the No. 3 since Dale Earnhardt won at Talladega Superspeedway in 2000. Despite finishing in the top 10 only twice during the final 14 regular-season events, the Coke 600 victory enabled Dillon to automatically advance to the Playoffs for a second consecutive season. After having his title hopes come to an early end after finishing no higher than 16th twice and not advancing past the Round of 16, Dillon proceeded to notch five top-15 results within the final seven events on the schedule before settling in a career-best 11th place in the final standings.
Returning for a fifth full-time Cup campaign in 2018, Dillon commenced the season with a thriller after spinning Aric Almirola on the final lap to win the 60th running of the Daytona 500 and notch his second Cup career victory. With the accomplishment, Dillon, who only led the final lap and piloted a Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to its first NASCAR victory in its first event, became the 39th competitor to win the Great American Race as he delivered the third Daytona 500 victory for Richard Childress Racing and the first for the No. 3 since Dale Earnhardt won his first and only 500 event in 1998.
The victory also occurred 11 years to the day when Kevin Harvick delivered the second and latest 500 victory for RCR. With the 500 victory guaranteeing Dillon and the No. 3 team a spot in the 2018 Cup Series Playoffs, the North Carolina native proceeded to finish in the top 10 three additional times during the remaining 25 regular-season events. Having his title hopes eliminated early after finishing 11th, sixth and 39th throughout the Round of 16, Dillon proceeded to finish in the top 11 five times during the final seven events on the schedule before settling in 13th place in the final standings. Despite achieving one less top-five result from his previous season (two), he doubled his top-10 results (eight) and improved his average-finishing result from 18.6 to 17.5.
After missing the 2019 Cup Series Playoffs and finishing 21st in the final standings, where he notched a total of six top-10 results, a career-high three poles and surpassed 200 Cup career starts throughout the season, Dillon began the 2020 Cup season with a 12th-place finish in the 62nd running of the Daytona 500 before notching a fourth-place run during the following event at Las Vegas. Then after recording three additional top-10 results during his next 15 starts, Dillon snapped an 88-race winless drought and returned to the Victory Lane in the Cup Series at Texas for the third time in his career after leading 22 laps and fending off teammate Tyler Reddick during a two-lap shootout.
The Texas victory also enabled Dillon to clinch a spot in the 2020 Cup Series Playoffs, which marked his fourth time making the postseason title battle, as he concluded the regular-season stretch with two additional top-10 results, amid being absent from the Daytona International Speedway Road Course event in August following a positive COVID-19 test. After notching a strong runner-up result during the Playoff opener at Darlington Raceway in September followed by a fourth-place finish at Richmond Raceway and a 12th-place run at Bristol Motor Speedway, respectively, Dillon transferred into the Round of 12. After being eliminated from the Playoffs due to finishing no higher than 12th throughout the Round of 12, he secured two 11th-place finishes during the final four-scheduled events before tying his career-best result in the final standings in 11th place. Overall, Dillon still managed to notch a career-high 135 laps led along with a total of four top-five results, nine top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 16.2.
Throughout the 2021 Cup Series season, where he reached 300 Cup career starts at season’s end, Dillon accumulated a total of eight top-10 results and a season-best third-place finish in the 63rd running of the Daytona 500. Despite winning the second Bluegreen Vacations Duel at Daytona in February following a final lap where he overtook Bubba Wallace, Dillon did not make the 2021 Cup Series Playoffs and concluded the season in 17th place in the final standings. Nonetheless, he still secured a career-best average-finishing result of 14.4 on the strength of 27 top-15 results throughout the 36-race schedule.
The 2022 Cup season began with a 25th-place finish during the 64th running of the Daytona 500, Dillon collected two runner-up results and a total of seven top-10 results throughout the following 24 regular-season events. Then during the regular-season finale at Daytona in August, he raced his way into the Playoffs after dodging a wreck that eliminated nearly the entire field with 23 laps remaining and withstanding a lengthy rain delay period to lead 10 laps and overtake Austin Cindric with three laps remaining before leading teammate Tyler Reddick across the finish line as part of a 1-2 finish for Richard Childress Racing.
The victory was Dillon’s fourth of his Cup career and the fifth time he made the Playoffs. Although his title hopes were eliminated early after finishing no higher than 14th throughout the Round of 16, Dillon notched a fourth-place finish and two 10th-place runs during the final seven-scheduled events before ending up in 11th place in the final standings for the third time in his career. By then, Dillon notched career-high stats in top fives (five) and top 10s (11) while emerging with an average finishing result of 16.5.
This past season, Dillon notched a strong runner-up result in the non-points Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Two weeks later, he was in contention and battling for the victory in the Daytona 500 before he was swept up in a multi-car wreck during an overtime shootout and ended up in 33rd place. Dillon proceeded to finish in the top five once and in the top 10 six times during the following 25 regular-season events but missed the Playoffs for the fifth time in his career. Finishing no higher than 10th throughout the 2023 Playoffs, Dillon ended up in 29th place in the final driver’s standings, the lowest of his career as a full-time Cup competitor.
Dillon started the 2024 Cup Series season with only two top-10 results through the first 22 scheduled events, which left him mired outside the top-30 mark in the regular-season standings. Then at Richmond Raceway this past August, he endured a high-turned-low career moment that started when he assumed the lead from Denny Hamlin with 28 laps remaining. Initially poised the seal the victory during the event’s scheduled distance, the event was sent into overtime due to a late multi-car wreck. Despite retaining the lead during the event’s caution period, Dillon would lose the lead to Joey Logano at the start of the overtime shootout. Then on the final lap, Dillon stepped on the gas and bumped into Logano and sent him spinning through the final turn. Dillon then veered dead left and turned Hamlin into the frontstretch’s outside wall to reclaim the lead and streak across the finish line to win for the fifth time in his career.
After initially guaranteeing himself and his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet team a spot into the 2024 Cup Series Playoffs, disaster struck three days later after NASCAR revoked his Playoff eligibility due to the North Carolinian’s deliberate actions to win and make the postseason. Following two appeal processes made by Dillon and Richard Childress Racing, both of which were denied, Dillon plummeted back down towards the top-30 mark in the regular-season standings. Despite finishing in 15th place in the regular-season finale at Darlington, Dillon was unable to race his way back into the Playoffs, which he missed for the sixth time in his career.
Through 399 previous Cup starts, Dillon has achieved five victories, six poles, 23 top-five results, 78 top-10 results, 411 laps led and an average-finishing result of 18.4. He is currently ranked in 29th place in the 2024 drivers’ standings.
Austin Dillon is scheduled to make his 400th Cup Series career start at Watkins Glen International for the Go Bowling at The Glen on Sunday, September 15, with the event’s broadcast scheduled to occur at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network.
