NASCAR CUP SERIES
2025 PLAYOFF MEDIA DAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES
AUGUST 27, 2025
Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, met with the media in advance of the start of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
Media Availability Quotes:
How do you see the first few rounds of the playoffs? Some say it builds pressure on the drivers and others say no?
“I think there are definitely times when certain people’s backs are against the wall pressed too hard and you can see it in their driving styles or the moves or choices they make. And teams, too. It’s very easy for a team to tighten up coming down pit road, make bold strategy moves that might not have been the same call that you would have made in the regular season. I think the cool part for our team is we’ve been executing at a high level lately and it started about four or five weeks ago. I think we can keep that same mentality, especially these first three races.”
Just a couple years ago at Bristol, you were involved in a wreck while in contention. What level knowing that you guys were in position before and something happened?
“That’s unfortunate. When those things happen, Bristol is probably the one of the three. Things happen at Darlington, too. They can happen at Gateway and anywhere, but Bristol’s one of those ones that if a wreck happens, you can be swept up in it pretty easy. But I would not have chosen any other three tracks. I feel like for our team, other than if you could throw a Richmond or Homestead maybe in there, of tracks, those three are in my top five. So, I’m excited for the way the playoffs lay out for us. And I think we scored a couple years ago in the playoffs we scored like second most points in the first round and transferred. So, I feel good about it. Darlington, it’s a good track.”
Some might be counting you guys out. It as motivation or at least fuel for you, pushing forward and making those rounds?
“I always use it as fuel, but I feel like I have really a good confidence and a calm about it. I don’t have anything to prove in that sense. I’m just really happy with where we’re at as an organization because first quarter of the season I would have said differently. But now I feel confident. I feel good that we can execute and make a good push. We’re one of the last teams to win on a regular oval, so.”
What’s going on different? You said last five weeks, your confidence is different?
After Dover, I think we probably took a different approach of like, all right, what can we do? What are the things that we’re not looking at as an organization to get better? And I think all things opened up a little bit more during those times. Like just a more group effort of really resetting, let’s start from scratch and kind of start there. But there were some things happening even before Dover that we probably didn’t get the fruits of all the labor that’s been going in. It’s just that Dover is truthfully probably historically a horrible track for us as an organization, so it kind of came to a head. But then we’ve been working hard and my team’s pretty in its infancy if I look at it that way. Boswell and I were one year in, and like we’re really building that atmosphere, and it’s just kind of coming together at the right time for the 3 team and I think that’s what it’s kind of come down to. You have winners in the group. I mean, we were at our win luncheon at RCR and it’s like we’ve got winners here now and that means something, and it feels good and makes you know that you can execute in a tight situation and not fall apart. And I think RCR’s always kind of had that execution factor, and we’re doing a better job of putting better product on the tracks, so that all comes together nicely.”
Making the playoffs is a way for some race teams to gauge success. What’s success for the next 10 weeks from here?
“I want to start with the first round. I think we are very capable of transferring to the next round. So that’s where I would start. That’s success. I would have said making the playoffs at one point this year would have been a huge goal. But now, at this point, like, we’ve got an opportunity. It’s like when momentum hits in the sport, in sports worlds, you’ve got to take advantage of it. Momentum is fickle. So, you got to take advantage of it when you’re hot, and I feel like our team’s a little hot right now and we don’t want to cool down. I think the picture changes and evolves throughout the playoffs, but there’s no one running away with it.”
What’s your biggest strength and weakness?
“I think biggest strength right now as a team, we’re executing well. Weakness, I don’t want this be weakness, but I think qualifying is going to be the most important thing for us. If we can qualify, which I think being in the playoffs and going out later is going to help that for us. We’ve had to fight that from a point situation all year. So now, if we can capitalize on being able to go out late, I think that helps our weakness.”
Do you feel like heading into it you have a lot of exuberance yourself given that you haven’t won the championship?
“I’m excited. I have a different perspective, probably, from where we were, or where we are now, and I’ve raced for championships before and won them in other series, so it’s not like I’m bad in that situation or a novice in that situation. I feel like I’m built for that. So now we just got to go do it.”
How hard is that? Can you just go through for the fans how hard it is to get to this level of being in the playoffs and actually win?
“Hours and hours of time and frustrations and happiness and grinding away with your team, questioning yourself, questioning what you’re doing to come out. This is what we do it for. This is for the championship. It’s for this trophy that a select few have ever been rewarded with. And so that’s the only way you would have it is to go to battle each and every day to try and get to this point. We’re in a heck of a schedule right now, like 28 straight weeks, but when you win Richmond like we did, you look back all the time and effort spent in the simulator, the time and effort put in … it’s worth all of it. And it almost motivates you to go do more, right? Like, now I’m ready to rock. Like, yeah, it’s validated. It can happen.”
You’ve taken a bigger step in the organization, is that right?
“I definitely am in a lot of the conversations that go on about the future and the direction and I’ve tried to stick my head in as much as possible because I feel like no one’s going to care about it more than family. And that is all I know because I’ve only been at RCR, so I feel like I have a direct correlation to the competition side also because I’ve seen the good times we’ve had and the bad times and I’ve gone through it all and different people and so I feel like at some point in my career — I’m doing this, what, 11 years now — that I got to speak up at times when it needs to be when I need to speak up. I’ve been to the point where I’m not going to say nothing and just let things happen because it’s not necessarily your job or responsibility. But then, at this point, it’s like, yeah, I’m ready. I want to help in any way I can, and I think the consistency as a human has helped gain respect from my grandfather, and so he knows I’m a Dylan is what he’ll say. My dad and I are fiery people, and my brother’s the same way. My brother’s probably the calmer of the three Dylan boys, and it’s a good mix. Ty’s been stepping in this year, learning more about the business side. And his perspective, too, is from like other teams that he’s been with. So, it’s good because I know what I know, and that’s RCR, and he’s been able to go and work on other teams and work with Kaulig and work with our partners there. So, it’s been good, and I think RC always will surprise you because he’s just a competitor. When it comes down to it, he wants to figure out how to make it work for everybody, and he cares.”
You’re looking to the future of the organization?
“I think that the focus … I’m really happy with where the 3 team is as a team, and I think that the focus has to be on how to make the 8 team perform better. I think that things are good. Talks are being had to progress that. I think one good meeting that we had on the 3 team was just me and Boswell sitting down the first third of the year and really getting to know each other and understand how each other flow and work together. And I think for that 8 team to take the next steps we’ve got to dig in and figure out what’s going to get them to executing better on a race date, because I personally think they have more speed than 75 percent of the teams, I would say, out there. Speed doesn’t seem to be an issue. So how do we get through a full race? Because I think now the hardest part of winning a race is execution because the field is literally razor thin. There’s no advantage. If there’s a giant advantage it would be a tenth and a half, maybe a tenth. So now, when you close that gap down, like, where is the execution? I think they’ve got a direction. I think that RC has got a good handle on things. I think we’re finally starting to help the 8 team, too. Like, at one point in time, I thought the 8 was kind of carrying a load and we weren’t delivering on our side. But I think we’re doing some good things now on the 3 team that they can take from us and start doing more at track.”
Understanding the history of the sport, what does Darlington mean?
“I think going through the tunnel at Darlington feels like home in a way just because I grew up at those types of racetracks. Seeing the fans in the infield cooking out, grilling out. And I love this time of year because it’s college football starting, racing’s in a really good place. It’s just like a happy time of the year for me going to Darlington. I’m ready. I feel good about it.”
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