DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Austin Dillon wasn’t too thrilled with his qualifying effort this past Sunday at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, but the Richard Childress Racing driver has a plan.
“I’m going to whip it like crazy the next two days to make me like it or force it to be good,” said Dillon during Wednesday’s Daytona 500 Media Day.
“We qualified bad for the 500, which gives me this kind of different mentality that I’ve never had here, that I’m going to be really aggressive in practice and in the Duel because there hasn’t been anything special about this car yet,” added Dillon.
With that planned aggression comes risk, but Dillon has a plan for that too.
“If it doesn’t work out, we’ll put out the backup, because it’s just as good. It can’t be any worse.”
Dillon will line up 13th for the second Can-Am Duel at Daytona Thursday night and if there’s a perfect place to test his car capabilities, the 60-lap qualifying race might be it.
Before setting the 26th fastest time overall in Daytona 500, the 26-year-old finished 12th in the Advance Auto Parts Clash. Despite finishing outside the top-10, the Welcome, N.C. native was exceptionally pleased with the performance of his Dow Chevrolet during the 75-lap exhibition event.
“Well, obviously, my car really did handle well in the Clash,” said Dillon. “So, I think handling is a positive thing that our cars have right now. But, you’ve got to mix that with some
speed to be really good. So, we’ll see. I’m definitely going to do what I can to grab the points in the Duel, too.
“But, more just to win the Duel. I’m going to try and win the Duel. I know there’s going to be guys; obviously, you’ve got the No. 24 and the No. 88 that won’t be as aggressive as most. And some guys are probably pretty excited about their cars for the 500, where I’m just mediocre about my car for the 500 right now.”
Winning a Can-Am duel race on Thursday would put Dillon fourth on the starting grid for the Daytona 500, but it also would give Dillon his first elusive win in the Cup Series driving for his grandfather’s team. Not to mention the first checkered flag for RCR since November 2013.
Although the win isn’t one officially for the record books, the triumphant would give instant satisfaction and 10 crucial regular season points to Dillon and the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing team.
Don’t worry though. Even though winning on Thursday doesn’t matter as much as it does on Sunday, Dillon knows his checkered flag is coming providing an instant gratification and second consecutive berth into the playoffs.
“I feel pretty confident though, truthfully,” he said. “I do feel like it can happy any race. My confidence is high.”
Winning is tough at NASCAR’s top level, winning the Daytona 500 is even harder.
But with an endless smile and relaxing attitude, Dillon’s confidence from his on-track performance last season hasn’t diminished during the off-season and that might be bad news for his competitors come Sunday afternoon.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
