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Nationwide
NNS: Dillon Patient On Ride To Top
Carrying the iconic RCR No. 3, Austin Dillon looks to score a Nationwide Series title this year…
Austin Dillon won the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series title last season. (Photo: Getty Images)
Austin Dillon is patient, perhaps much more so than the fans who line up behind his car number.
Dillon carried the revered number 3 to the Camping World Truck Series championship last season. This year he (and the number) move up a level in search of the Nationwide Series title.
And there is every expectation that team owner Richard Childress, who logged six Cup championships with driver Dale Earnhardt Sr. in the 3, will move his grandson to NASCAR’s top series with the number in a couple of years.
The number 3 hasn’t been raced in Cup since Earnhardt was killed driving the iconic black Chevrolet on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500.
“The great thing is the fan base behind it,” Dillon said. “I feel like I have an advantage over others who don’t have something behind their number. I have a lot of people who live for that number. When I put it out front, they’re excited. Every week I want to do the best and respect where it came from.”
Dillon, 21, appears to have the talent and mental bearing to move into Cup at any time. But he appreciates the learning process.
“I’d rather stay in the Nationwide Series two years and learn how to win races in that series like I did in trucks,” he said. “Going into Nationwide this year, I feel like we’ll have a shot at the championship. I have a lot to learn in Nationwide because of road courses and other tracks I haven’t been to.
“I still have the rookie stripe to fall back on this year. It will be a fun year.”
Dillon ran several Nationwide races last year to get a taste of the series. Although he’s new to full-time competition in the series, his team has the benefit of the merger with Kevin Harvick Inc. and that team’s successful history in Nationwide.
“After I ran in trucks in 2010, I knew going into 2011 what it takes to win a championship,” he said. “I think I know what it’s going to take in Nationwide. But we’re going to have to step up our game from last year.
“We don’t have the experience and the notes that we had in the truck series, but we do have the KHI notes. If we can manage our finishes, we’ll have a shot.
“I’m not in a rush. I want to get experience in the Cup series to where when I go there I can have a shot to win races and the championship. As confident as I am going into the Nationwide series this year, I want to be the same way when I go into Cup.”
Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 30 years. He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
Dillon carried the revered number 3 to the Camping World Truck Series championship last season. This year he (and the number) move up a level in search of the Nationwide Series title.
And there is every expectation that team owner Richard Childress, who logged six Cup championships with driver Dale Earnhardt Sr. in the 3, will move his grandson to NASCAR’s top series with the number in a couple of years.
The number 3 hasn’t been raced in Cup since Earnhardt was killed driving the iconic black Chevrolet on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500.
“The great thing is the fan base behind it,” Dillon said. “I feel like I have an advantage over others who don’t have something behind their number. I have a lot of people who live for that number. When I put it out front, they’re excited. Every week I want to do the best and respect where it came from.”
Dillon, 21, appears to have the talent and mental bearing to move into Cup at any time. But he appreciates the learning process.
“I’d rather stay in the Nationwide Series two years and learn how to win races in that series like I did in trucks,” he said. “Going into Nationwide this year, I feel like we’ll have a shot at the championship. I have a lot to learn in Nationwide because of road courses and other tracks I haven’t been to.
“I still have the rookie stripe to fall back on this year. It will be a fun year.”
Dillon ran several Nationwide races last year to get a taste of the series. Although he’s new to full-time competition in the series, his team has the benefit of the merger with Kevin Harvick Inc. and that team’s successful history in Nationwide.
“After I ran in trucks in 2010, I knew going into 2011 what it takes to win a championship,” he said. “I think I know what it’s going to take in Nationwide. But we’re going to have to step up our game from last year.
“We don’t have the experience and the notes that we had in the truck series, but we do have the KHI notes. If we can manage our finishes, we’ll have a shot.
“I’m not in a rush. I want to get experience in the Cup series to where when I go there I can have a shot to win races and the championship. As confident as I am going into the Nationwide series this year, I want to be the same way when I go into Cup.”
Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 30 years. He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
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