“It’s validation to yourself,” Austin Dillon on his playoff entry and what it means to him
Follow Us
Austin Dillon
This Sunday, the opening race of the 2022 playoffs will take place at Darlington Raceway with NASCAR Cup Series outfits. This Sunday’s race will feature tough racing between the 16 drivers who are vying for the championship and the rest of the field who are hoping for any races that will earn them top finishes in the remaining ten rounds.
Going into the race, one of the drives to look up to will be the No:3 Richard Childress Camaro ZL1 driver Austin Dillon as the first-time cup race winner is riding the momentum he got from the last weekend where he secured his playoff spot with an impressive win at the regular season finale at Daytona. The success proves that the 4-time race winner has the luck as well as the technical backing to top the charts in the post-season.
The RCR driver who struggled to match his young teammate Tyler Reddick’s form in the same setup through 2022 will be hoping to get back on top[ of the youngster, and he will have the full backing of the whole RCR crew as Tyler Reddick isn’t in good terms with the team following his early announced 23X1 Racing move.
Now Austin Dillon has come forth, expressing his thoughts on how he feels about the playoff entry and why he sees it as a validation for his efforts throughout the season. He has also expressed his views on the Next-Gen car and how it made the whole field more competitive.
Also read: “Darlington just screams NASCAR,” Kevin Harvick on the post-season opener Cook Out Southern 500
Find out what Austin Dillon said
Austin Dillon acknowledged that every time he makes it into the NASCAR playoffs, it’s a validation to himself as you are one of the best of that year. He added that though he has been in the playoffs four times before but pointed out that it’s hard all the time, he didn’t make it to the post-season as he gets sunk into the feeling of letting the whole team down.
“I think every time you make the NASCAR Playoffs, it’s validation to yourself that you’re one of the guys. We’ve made it five times now. I don’t know how many years I’ve been doing this, but every time you’re not in it, it doesn’t feel good. You’re not going to the banquet at the end of the year. You feel like you let your guys down,” Austin Dillon said.
Austin Dillon added that he feels good about getting a chance to represent the company in the playoffs and fight for the championship. He acknowledged that he should have locked in the spot way before the Daytona race, adding that now it doesn’t matter as he finally got in. He pointed out the competitiveness of the cup series shown here right now with the 15 different winners.
“You feel like you let your company down. For me, it’s everything. It feels good to get a chance to compete for a championship. I did feel like we should have been locked into the Playoffs earlier than this, but it doesn’t matter how you get in; you got in. 15 different winners this year. That’s a testament to this NextGen car and how competitive the field is,” Austin Dillon added.
Austin Dillon went on to say that he doesn’t think there is any motorsports racing series in the world right now that is as competitive as the premier stock car racing. He backed his claim by pointing out to the Watkins Glen cup race where the difference in speed of the top 20 was just 100th of a second and added that the season had been a challenging one for everyone throughout.
“I don’t think there’s any other form of motorsports that has this type of competitiveness week-in and week-out. Take Watkins Glen, for instance, and the spread from first to 20th. You look at the time sheet, and you are holding your break for a hundredth to move you up five sports. It’s what the NASCAR Cup Series is supposed to be. It’s challenging. You never give up, and that’s been the theme of this season,” Austin Dillon explained.
What are the odds of Austin Dillon entering the Championship four?
Also read: “I don’t have any expectations,” Austin Cindric on his maiden playoff run in the NASCAR cup series
Stay Updated!
Justin P Joy
(4859 Articles Published)