The last few weeks have been challenging for the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing team with Austin Dillon behind the wheel. They’ve had three wrecks at Charlotte, Pocono, and Michigan that make the No. 3 team effort look worse than it is, and a good finish at Chicagoland Speedway on Sunday, June 30th for the Camping World 400 would go a long way in recharging Dillon and his team. With clean air as such a premium, starting from the pole position should help in a big way.
“We’ve had cars capable of good finishes. If we would have finished where we should have in those three races, we would be in the top-16,” says Dillon about the strength of his team. “We won a stage at Michigan. I made a move going into turn one, it didn’t really work out and William Byron got into me. It’s a couple of decisions here and there that you wish you could have back and some of them are out of your own doing. Pocono, we just got turned and wrecked. We’ll work hard to dig ourselves out of the hole, but this could be a great turning point for our season and we are looking at it like that. We’re going to go out there, score stage points and try to win the race.”
For Dillon racing at Chicagoland Speedway this weekend is a welcome sight for his chances at turning their luck around.
“This is one of the best tracks that we go to all year,” says Dillon. “It’s pretty amazing. The finish you saw last year kind of speaks for itself and I feel like you will see one of those again on Sunday. It’s cool because the tires wear out and that is the type of tracks I like coming to because it creates good racing and passing. As the tires fall off, it creates some really good passes here and if your car keeps turning, you’ll have some good forward drive.”
The urgency for the team is part of their motivation for a good finish at the 1.5-mile midwest tri-oval.
“Definitely, it’s been urgent,” Dillon emphasizes. “Points are so close, so you can’t give up any. A win is in my thoughts. We need to get a win or string together some amazing races coming down to the end of the year to put us in a good spot in points.
The next races leading up to the close of the regular season leads to more action on the track and for fans that’s always a good combination.
“I think it’s desperate for teams from the start because there are only a certain amount of races before the Playoffs start and I think that’s why the intensity is so good in our sport right now,” explains Dillon. “You see a lot of intensity out there and people making moves. Every race has had some intense moves in it and people moving each other to put their cars in position.”
Fans can watch the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Camping World 400 at Chicagoland Speedway on Sunday, June 30th on NBCSN. The drop of the green flag has been moved up to 2 pm ET to avoid the potential of weather coming into the area.