Austin Dillon, driver of the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at World Wide Technology Raceway.
Media Availability Quotes:
You’re averaging the third-most points on this type of track, the shorter flat tracks, this year. Why do you feel like you excel at these types of venues?
“That’s a good question. I’m not sure. I feel like I’m comfortable with whatever we’re doing with the cars. Just confidence and giving good feedback. The guys are giving me good race cars and it’s just probably a strong suit for us right now at RCR. I guess that’s the best way to answer it. I do feel really comfortable and feel like my feedback is good.”
You finished sixth here last year and Kyle (Busch) won here the year before, so how much of an opportunity is this weekend to get above the cutline?
“It’s huge. You know, last week was very disappointing because I felt like we had a great week to capitalize. We really executed in practice and qualifying. Qualifying ninth, that was a big start for us. We didn’t do a great job in the race of taking advantage of that. I feel like we should be above the cutline because of all the stuff that went down last week. ‘Execution’ was the main word that I used at media day. We executed partly… half of it. Getting through that race, we’re only eight away from the cutline, so it’s not insurmountable. I feel really good about these next two races. So yes, Gateway is huge for us. I think that qualifying today, again, if we can execute like we did at Darlington — this is a place that is tougher to pass than Darlington. Maintaining track position is a bit easier because of that, but you also have to do a really good job in strategy and different things. I think the past history of Kyle (Busch) running really well here and winning. Last year, we had a very fast car and we were able to take advantage of that and finish sixth, like you said, and score stage points. If we score some stage points and finish in the top-10, I feel like we’ll go into Bristol just above the cutline, and then we’ve got to do the same thing there.”
You’ve been fast at this point of the season, the end of the summer, this year and last year. What is it about RCR that you kind of build up to the end of the summer, start of the playoffs, or is it just kind of the team getting fast at the right time?
“It’s funny. I think we come out swinging, we kind of take a dip and then we come back. I think RC has to yell at us at the right time, I guess, and then we get going again. I don’t know why that is.
I’d really love to figure that out, solve for it, but at least we’re finding speed at the right time, like you talked about, because I think that’s key in this sport now and in every sport. Momentum is big I’m proud of our organization for the speed that we have brought the last couple weeks. You saw Kyle (Busch) and AJ (Allmendinger) run well last week. It shows us that we were capable of doing that. We kind of got burnt last week on that last caution. I mean, we were on pit road when the yellow fell and we were the wave around. We had just started coming forward pretty good. We were up to 18th. I think we would have finished the race 14th, if that cycle would have gone through.”
There’s been some talk about changing the rule next year for the fastest lap for the point, like whether you have to be on the lead lap or not. You’re probably somebody who loves kind of love the challenge of getting the car back on track, kind of old school racer mentality. I’m curious how you view that?
So did Josh (Berry) end up getting the fast lap last week and it counted toward the playoffs?
Yeah, that’s impressive. So yeah, I guess you don’t want to be in that situation either way, but it is a consolation prize, somewhat. So yeah, they probably got to look at it, as far as is it the true fast lap of the race? You know, that’s probably the toughest part because — yeah, you pump up the tires, you go rip one lap off, you’re going to be quick time. It’s just part of it. You’re running qualifying air and low on fuel. I mean, you guys see what we do from practice to qualifying every week and how much faster we go. Yeah, it probably needs to be adjusted.”
Austin Cindric was in here a little bit earlier. He doesn’t really think these flat tracks are in the grouping that a lot of us perceive him to be… like Gateway, New Hampshire, Phoenix are more different. What’s your perspective on that? When we watch this tomorrow, how much can we be like, all right, this guy was good here, so Phoenix, New Hampshire, they’ll probably be good there… how much does that really translate?
“I think there is definitely connections to certain aspects. I think I look at it more of like the asphalt degradation stuff, so tracks that really burn up tires and then tracks that have a high grip level. I think this (World Wide Technology Raceway) has a high grip level. I think Phoenix has a high grip level. So I look at Penske, they consistently run well in places that I feel like tires are less attractive in the situation. That’s where I feel like they run well. Like, you go to a higher degradation place, they seem to struggle a little bit in those places. But I wouldn’t look at it like — if you run good here, I do not think that it really translates to New Hampshire at all, just because the asphalt is so old and rough and this place is pretty smooth. So that’s another part of it to look at, like look at how smooth the track is and how rough a track is. Those things play more into what a company I feel like brings consistently to a track, like who really has a good shock package because the tracks are rough. At a smoother track, well, then they’re probably a little more rigid than most places and they really do a good job on their aero platform. Those are the type of things that I would look at instead of clumping certain tracks together.”
What were your thoughts on Gateway getting added to the playoffs? With turns one and two being so different than three and four, what are some of the challenges this place presents? “It’s a very different type of track. It’s a cool track. I think you’re shifting a lot more than most places here. Strategy is very important. Two tires, no tires, fuel only, all come into play here. It is cooler than what we normally race here, so I think strategy is even that much more important.
But it’s a great facility. They give great gifts to the drivers. I’ve got an awesome chrome bat with my name on it, some cookies and all kinds of stuff, so they’re like P1 on my charts for gifts, so far (laughs). So yeah, it’s a cool place.”
I know it’s a way out, but the forecast for Bristol is pretty mild. It could be somewhat chilly at night, so how nervous are you that the tire situation could be one of those crazy degradation races if it’s just cool enough to trigger that?
“It definitely could happen. I feel like they have a good grasp on what makes that happen or not, and I think it has to do with the amount of PJ1 that they use or the type they use. The resin didn’t work. I feel like if they use nothing, like if they make a really light pass across the track with that and they don’t put that PJ1 down within that three-foot, four-foot range on the bottom, then there’s a good shot that that tire degradation stuff happens, like if they just put less down.
So that’s what I think. Every time they try not to put that stuff down on the bottom, then it’s going to really marble up and do all that crazy tire stuff. So yeah, that would be interesting. That would throw a little ding in the plans and change the game a little bit, if that happens.”
With your bigger involvement with the organization, does that and any of that go back to your experiences with the bull riding team and getting more involved? And if so, how so? Is it easy to maybe see how busy you are that that’s more of a ceremonial position with the bull riding team?
“At this point, I wish it was ceremonial sometimes (laughs). But I’m constantly working pretty good with those guys… team psychologist sometimes. We’re struggling right now for the first time
But I’ve learned a lot, man. I’ve learned a ton. It’s interesting from that side of it. I probably feel for my grandfather at certain times a lot more because a lot of things are out of your control in the end. You’re trying to put together the greatest teams and the greatest group of guys you can, and sometimes it just doesn’t work out. You got to stick with your people. You got to be there for them when it matters. It makes you grow up a lot in that position.
So yeah, I think it’s been helpful, and I think it allows me to sympathize with him on certain things. You learn a lot from that, so it’s good.”
What is Austin Dillon, team psychologist, like?
“I’m just trying to be there for my guys, like a team. I’ve been in a lot of sports settings. You guys always talk about Little League World Series. I had some great coaches and some great teammates. Sports, in general, have shaped the person I feel like I am. I’ve had some great race teams that I’ve won championships with, and I still have relationships with those guys. It goes a long way. The current team I have is a great team. I have a great crew chief and leader. It’s a long season. It’s a grind. You go up through ups and downs, and you lose a lot.
You know, winning is a blessing and a curse. It teaches you — when you’re winning all the time, it’s hard to understand certain things. So when you lose, it really teaches you a lot more. And yeah, so you learn a lot more of what kind of person you are when you lose, and who the people you have around you. Winning is great and easy… everybody loves you. But when you start to struggle, those are the people that — the guy that comes out of that, that’s the person I want to be around because no matter what adversity they hit, they’re going to come out the other side of it. As you go through those things, you’re not going to win constantly. The best in the world; there’s only a few of those people, the goats, that do it. But at some point in their career, they probably lost, and they figured it out earlier than most.”
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